


The Prophet

by Tcharlatan



Series: Prophet [1]
Category: Dir en grey
Genre: Alternate Universe - Yakuza, Anal Sex, Dysfunctional Relationships, Early Work, Enemy Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Imprisonment, Interrogation, Kidnapping, M/M, Minor Character Death, Oral Sex, Stockholm Syndrome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-02
Updated: 2012-12-02
Packaged: 2017-11-20 02:00:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 13
Words: 29,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/580052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tcharlatan/pseuds/Tcharlatan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A criminal love story. When the Terachi and Niikura families begin to butt heads, a single moment of misfortune lands the Terachi's Head Advisor in enemy hands.</p><p>(AU - no prior familiarity with characters necessary)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work of pure fiction. I do not personally know any of the members of Dir en Grey, and do not profit from this work.

**February 2 nd \- 6:00 pm** 

Long fingers danced swiftly over a matte black keyboard, light flashing off ornate silver rings from the sun setting outside a large window. A cigarette rested in a glass tray nearby, smoking itself to death unattended, heavy rock music playing its dirge from computer speakers. A soft knock at the open door of the office called the fingers to a halt, their owner looking up from the three glowing screens spanning his desk, dark gold eyes blinking behind thin wire-framed glasses.

The man in the doorway wore a teasing smile on full lips, auburn hair dusting slender shoulders hugged by a carefully tailored suit. “We’re heading home. Don’t work too late, hmm?”

Kyo grinned sheepishly in response. “I’ll try not to, Shin. There are some discrepancies in the numbers coming out of one of the parlors out on the Hill that I want to look into before I go home, and I’m waiting on a report from one of my guys on a former employee that's gone missing.”

His boss frowned, stepping into the small office to look over the blonde’s shoulder. “Are these discrepancies something I should be concerned about?”

The shorter man sat back in his computer chair, plucking his cigarette out of its holding tray to take a slow drag. “I’m not sure yet… it  _looks_ like someone might be skimming a little off the top. The parlor is still profitable, but variance from budget based on last year’s numbers is cutting consistently closer the past three months than it had before.”

The tall, willowy brunette that had been shadowing Shinya grinned from where he was leaning against the doorframe. “Don’t worry about it, Boss. That’s just nerd-speak for ‘I need to fire up some hot gay porn and crank one out before I walk home.’”

Kyo leaned forward, cigarette balanced precariously between his lips as he clicked through personnel files. “Sorry, Toshiya, I forgot you were there. I’ll try to use smaller words. _One of our casinos is making less money than it used to._ Is that better?”

The Head of Security flipped him off, and he returned the gesture without looking away from his screen. Shinya rolled his eyes and gave a long-suffering sigh, patting his advisor’s shoulder before heading out of the office. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Kyo. Have you thought about what you want to do for your birthday?”

The blonde grunted, hiding a wry smile. “No, I guess I haven’t given it much thought.”

“Think on it, hm? I don’t want to have to break down your door this year.” A playful wink, and Shinya was gone, bodyguard in tow.

Kyo chuckled to himself and continued digging through files and reports. No matter how he tried to downplay the date, in the nineteen years they had known each other, his oldest friend had never let so much as a single birthday go by without some elaborate celebration. It stood to reason, though; the two had been joined at the hip since the day they met on their grade school playground. Even when Shinya inherited the Terachi family business three years ago, after his father was killed, he brought Kyo up with him.

Though cunning and surprisingly ruthless, Shinya lacked the patience and technical skill needed to personally manage the expansive assets his organization held, and so where most mafia heads put all their trust in the Heads of Security, he had placed his in his Advisor. Every brothel, gambling parlor, drug running operation, illegal import, betting ring, and money loaning establishment was documented and memorized in acute detail by the young blonde. With his support, Shinya had expanded on what his father and grandfather had built, fingers of newly-controlled territory reaching out every day to grab hold of new investments.

Kyo’s position was an unusual one, and he had to go to great lengths to protect himself and the information he held. Everything he knew was stored on an extensively protected laptop that he carried with him wherever he went; even now, the laptop was hooked up to a bank of desktop monitors and a keyboard, and he maintained no physical files, so nothing would remain in his office after he left. Unlike most employees of the family, he lived in the outskirts of the city, outside of Shinya’s sphere of influence, and did not enjoy any of the job-related perks that they did. He had no bodyguard or driver, attended meetings on the other side of a webcam behind the avatar of a blue butterfly, and rarely went to clubs owned by his friend. Few employees of the Terachi family even knew who he was or what he looked like.

So when he packed up his computer to leave hours later, he left through a parking garage that the Terachi building – camouflaged within a building owned by an insurance firm – shared with several other nearby buildings, passing only a pair of security guards who hardly spared him a passing glance. Just another pencil pusher. He came out on foot half a block away from the headquarters, tucking in earbuds connected to the tiny music-player in his pocket. Shrugging deeper into his long jacket, he cursed the gentle snow that was beginning to fall and wished the trip to his apartment was shorter. It took over a half-hour to get home, and the bus picked up three blocks away.

Hunched up like an irate bird, the blonde stalked down the street at a rapid pace, cutting through alley after dumpster-filled alley to shorten his trip as much as possible. The snow was sticking, and he wasn’t looking forward to the trip back tomorrow morning.

“F-fuck, maybe I should just s-sleep in the of-ffice!” Kyo grumbled to himself, teeth chattering. “G-get dinner out of the v-vending ma-AGH!”

His shout was muffled by the thick rag clamped over his mouth. A powerful arm held it in place from behind, while another wrapped around his elbows to keep him in place. He roared and thrashed, only barely registering the sickly sweet smell of chloroform before his vision started to blur and spin.

Everything went dark, and then he was falling…

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**February 2 nd \- 8:00 pm**

 Sharp eyes the color of dark chocolate looked through a wall-to-wall pane of one-way glass, critical and predatory. Thin lips were pursed thoughtfully in an angular face framed by medium-length black hair, and a crisp pinstriped suit complemented the man’s lean, sturdy frame. He was watching the small blonde in the other room sleep; utterly unthreatening even if he weren’t handcuffed and stripped down to his trousers and undershirt.

“You’re telling me this… _child_ is the mind behind Shinya Terachi?”

The tall redhead behind the man at the window was impossible to read behind black sunglasses as he flipped through a heavy file folder, “According to everything we could find, including one inside source.”

“This ‘inside source’ is trustworthy?”

“Hideki spent three days with him, and his story never changed.”

“Fair enough.” The shorter man waved a hand. “What do we know?”

“Tooru Nishimura, age twenty-six, born in Kyoto, moved to Osaka at age seven where he supposedly met Shinya Terachi – age five – in grade school. School records report several fights involving Nishimura and Terachi, though the gist is that Nishimura was doing most of the fighting in Terachi’s defense. At age ten, his father was charged and convicted with the murder of his mother and sent to prison. His maternal grandparents fought for custody, but papers came up naming Kunio and Yumi Terachi his legal guardians.

“After that, it gets kind of hazy. Shinya Terachi went on to college and graduate school, while Nishimura turned in a blank high school entrance exam and fell off the radar shortly after. What we could get from our ‘informant’ suggests he was brought up by Kunio to serve as Shinya’s advisor. He’s supposed to know everything about the family business, more than Shinya himself, and is apparently responsible for all of their recent acquisitions of power. They call him the Prophet.”

“I see… What do you think, Daisuke?”

“I don’t know, Kao,” Die admitted, moving forward to stand next to his boss at the window. “He looks like a… I don‘t know, like a fucking accountant, if not for all the tattoos and piercings. He doesn’t carry a gun, either. But the computer he was carrying… no one can get into it.”

“What, it’s password protected?” Kaoru frowned. He paid for better people than that.

Die shook his head. “They can’t even get it to turn on. Every time they try it starts up, beeps for fifteen seconds with a blank screen, then shuts itself down.”

Kaoru watched with quiet fascination as a blonde head rolled slowly side to side, a soft moan of discomfort coming through the camera feed playing on a screen behind him. Dark gold eyes fluttered open, shifting from sleepy, to confused, to angry over the course of several long moments. A thin, but toned torso shifted and flexed experimentally, testing the bonds that held his wrists together. He stood, staggering a bit at first but stabilizing quickly, and bare feet padded silently to stand before the mirror his captors had gathered behind. The face that had been so soft in sleep was now pulled into a challenging glare, chin raised defiantly.

Kaoru smirked, raising one hand to touch the glass in front of the younger man’s face, “Put Hideki to work on him. No permanent damage.”

Die nodded quietly and pulled out his cell phone to make the call.

 

**February 3 rd \- 12:00 am**

Kyo grunted in pain as he was dumped unceremoniously into a small cell. One of his two impossibly large, black-suited ‘escorts’ set a little plastic cup of water next to him, then the heavy metal door was slammed shut and he was left alone in the darkness. Sitting up slowly, rubbing the raw circles around his wrists where the handcuffs had worn into his skin, the blonde assessed his situation while waiting for his eyes to adjust.

He had, for the past couple hours, been interrogated by a very large, peroxide-blonde man who introduced himself as Hideki Yuji. Questions – about where Shinya lived, where the Terachi headquarters was located, what was on his computer, how to get _into_ his computer, who was in charge of what operations – had been met with blatant, ridiculous lies, for each of which he’d been soundly beaten. The two large men that had brought him to his cell had, in the interrogation room, held him in place for each vicious blow to his face and torso. When the wind was knocked out of him and he fell to his knees, gasping to recover it, they stepped aside to make room for Hideki to kick him around the room.

Now, one eye was swelling shut, and the other one was blinking furiously against a slow trickle of blood from a shallow cut on his eyebrow. Deep red marks that promised to be wicked bruises dappled his torso and arms, and he suspected his legs weren’t in much better shape since he’d used them to guard his stomach while being kicked on the floor. The cell he’d been left to recover in was small, maybe two meters wide by two and a half deep, unlit and unheated. Already his feet were going numb from the cold cement floor. A hard plastic cot was bolted to the far wall, a toilet mounted on the sidewall nearby, and the only window was a tiny barred rectangle mounted high on the metal door.

“Nnnn… yeah, Kyo, you’re fucked…” he sighed, one hand clutching bruised ribs painfully as the other reached out for the little cup of water. Sipping slowly – wincing as the liquid stung a split in his lower lip – he dragged himself over to the cot to stretch out. “Thoroughly fucked, indeed.”

 

**February 3 rd \- 10:00 am**

“What is the password that starts up your computer?” a deep voice demanded coldly.

“ASCII art of a big, fat cock,” Kyo gasped, face dripping, his one working eye defiant.

The hand gripping the back of his head by the hair shoved him down, facefirst, into a large bucket of cold water. He trashed violently but, on his knees with his hands cuffed behind his back, he had no leverage with which to free himself. That single, powerful hand held him in place until the breath he’d held escaped, and he had nothing to replace it with but water. When his spasms became involuntary, instinctual panic, he was pulled back up, coughing and gasping for air. He’d only been here for an hour so far, but nearly drowning over and over was quickly sapping his strength.

“What is the password that starts up your computer?”

“The-ck! The entire written works of Michael Ende. Backwards.”

He was pushed into the water again, his desperate bucking and flailing not having the slightest impact on Hideki’s grip. When he was pulled back up, he threw up water and bile onto his pants between fits of coughing and choking.

“What is the password that starts up your computer?”

“Th-the transcript for that p-porno your mother starred in.”

This time he was pushed in almost before he finished his sentence. He was held under longer than before, and the sheer biological panic a body experiences when faced with death kicked in. He blacked out. For a while, all the pain seemed to fall away from him and he was floating in a field of twinkling lights. In the distance, he thought he saw the hazy outline of a woman, heard a soft laugh. His mother? Ah… he hadn’t seen her in so long… Everything was so soft and bright and... fuzzy. _Peaceful._ He drifted lazily toward the figure.

Hands pounding on his back and shaking him roughly brought him, water spitting out of his mouth and nose followed by more thin vomiting.

“What is the password that starts up your computer?”

 

**February 3 rd \- 6:00 pm**

Kyo’s escorts, dragging him by the underarms, tossed him into a wet heap in his cell, again leaving a little cup of water. Having had quite enough water for the day, he ignored the cup for now, instead focusing his energy on dragging himself to his cot. His arms and legs felt like they were made of soggy bread, his throat was burning, and his stomach ached fiercely from a day of coughing, puking, and choking. The early stages of nicotine withdrawal gave him a severe headache, making it difficult to think clearly. It took nearly ten minutes to get himself across the tiny room to his cot, and another five to climb onto it.

His undershirt and wool trousers were soaked and thin, clinging to his legs like sheathes of itchy ice. He reached up one shaky hand to grip the skull pendent that hung around his neck, clutching it as a religious man might hold a crucifix in times of trial. Closing his non-swollen eye, he pictured Shinya’s face and vowed silently to protect his family’s secrets as sleep swept up to claim him.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**February 4 th \- 11:00 am**

Kyo wasn’t sure he would make it though this session alive. He was strapped to a vertical rack, tiny wires attached to his skin all over his torso. For every bitter, blatant lie he told, a mild shock had been administered through one of the wires, chosen at random by Hideki. The large man was currently sitting at the table bolted to the floor in the center of the room, cigarette burning down in a ceramic ashtray while he packed down an almost comically large lunch. Kyo supposed it might have been funnier if his stomach wasn’t churning painfully with hunger, if want for smoke was making his head swim and his body tremble, if he weren’t still periodically twitching from the shocks he’d been receiving all morning.

Hideki, glancing up from a magazine, caught his stare and smirked. Holding out a piece of grilled, marinated beef held delicately between chopsticks, he tilted his head innocently. “Hungry?”

Kyo’s stomach wrenched with want and he had to stifle a groan. “Nah, thanks. I only eat scorpions and baby intestines. Chocolate-covered ants on special occasions.”

“Ah.” His captor ate the beef and instead held out the cigarette. “Smoke, then?”

A reckless grin hid the smaller blonde’s desperation. “Interferes with my photosynthetic processes.”

The man took a long, cruel drag off the stick and exhaled slowly in Kyo’s direction, just enough for a tiny wisp to reach his nose. He stalwartly refused to gasp it in, meeting Hideki’s gaze with his one good eye, burnt gold gone slightly wild but still defiant. Hideki put the cigarette out in a half-finished bowl of soup and stood, collecting the remote that controlled the wires.

“Let’s begin again. We’ll try shock level 2 now. Where does Shinya Terachi live?”

 

**February 4 th \- 7:00 pm**

Upon returning to his cell, Kyo had greedily sucked down his nightly ration of water, as well as the one from the night before. He regretted it now; he was still desperately thirsty. At this rate, whether he died of starvation or dehydration was a bit of a tossup, but either way it would be a miserably slow death. He paced the tiny room restlessly. Insomnia and anxiety chewed at him despite the exhaustion seeping deep to the bone. He recognized it as another symptom of nicotine withdrawal.

“Fuck…” He growled, whirling around to kick his hard cot. “FUCK, FUCK, _FUCK_!”

The door to his cell rattled loudly as someone pounded on it from outside. “Quiet down in there!”

One of his escorts – ‘Masanori’ if Kyo had heard right – was in a foul mood tonight. On the way back from interrogation, Kyo had managed to slip an arm free and bury an elbow in the large man’s side, getting in one shallow kick to his ribs as well before his other escort (Agio? Akio?) had wrestled him down to the floor. Evidently one or both of them also stood guard shifts outside his cell when he wasn’t being questioned. He sighed and sat, arms crossed, one leg bouncing nervously on the ball of its foot.

“I’m going to die here,” he whispered, finally acknowledging his inevitable fate aloud. Shaking his head, he lifted his eyes to the ceiling in supplication. “…I just hope it happens before they break me.”

 

**February 5 th \- 12:00 pm**

_“Shinya, I’m sorry, but Tooru is simply not a suitable second for you. We can find work for him elsewhere,” the older man said dismissively, most of his attention focused on a thick stack of paper._

_Shinya crossed his arms, eyes narrowing. At ten years he was only a spindly shadow of the man he would become, though his notorious stubborn streak was well into its development. “What do you mean he’s not suitable?”_

_Kyo, twelve years old, sat in the plush chair set in front of Kunio Terachi’s desk, looking put out. He had told his friend much the same, but the boy had insisted. Slipping on his wire-frame glasses, he straightened just enough to peek around Shinya’s thin back at the papers on the desk. Personnel roster, but one of the pictures looked oddly familiar…_

_“He’s too emotional, son. He’s too sentimental to be willing to die for the cause, and you can’t trust someone so volatile with a gun. Hell, he’d probably shoot you himself if you two ever had a real argument. And he’s too small to be much use at close range.”_

_“Then I’ll find someone else to be my bodyguard, but I want Kyo at my side when I take over for you. You asked who I chose for my second, and he is my choice!”_

_“Mr. Terachi?” Kyo spoke up, voice soft in an attempt to hide the cracking it had been doing lately. His eyes were sharp, however._

_“Yes, Tooru?” The older man sighed, expecting the beginning of a screaming tantrum. His adopted son was notoriously, loudly obstinate once he had his mind set on something._

_“This man,” one small hand reached out to brush over a grayscale photograph of one of Kunio’s newer drivers, “I think he works for the Niikura family. I’ve seen him at the Bloody Lotus bothering the waitresses and talking about how he has it in with the owner. The bartenders sneak him little pieces of paper sometimes.”_

_“…Is that so…?”_

A wide hand crashing against the side of his face brought Kyo swimming out of his delusion. He blinked, both eyes open today but neither focusing properly. He was on the same rack today as yesterday, but now he was shirtless and his arms were bound over his head. Hideki was wielding a sharp leather whip, and his sensitive sides and belly were burning with deep red welts, several bleeding sluggishly. Kyo wasn’t sure when he’d blacked out, or whether it was from pain or hunger.

“Oh good, you’re back with me. Thought I’d lost you there for a minute!” Hideki’s voice was sickeningly happy, a grin splitting his narrow face. His interrogator was in a good mood today.

“Mmph… msnr…” Kyo mumbled, lips moving but little sound coming out. His throat was raw from screaming.

Hideki’s grin dropped, suddenly very curious. “What did you say?”

“Nnf… pass…. mng…”

The large man leaned in, “The password?”

Kyo nodded, head bobbing weakly on his neck.

“What is the password?”

“Ffff…. unnn…”

Hideki leaned in closer, straining to catch the faint whisper. “What?”

“Fffiss… msssier…”

Kyo felt peroxide blonde hair wisp over his face as the man came in to stand right in front of him. A weak grin passed his lips and he jerked forward, sharp teeth clamping on Hideki’s left ear with all his remaining strength.

“AAGGGH! SON OF A BITCH!” Large fists beat into the prisoner’s torso once, twice, before the man fell away from him, clutching his bloody ear. His face was a twisted mess of shock, pain, and rage.

Kyo spit out the piece of flesh he’d managed to tear off, smirking tiredly.

“I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!” Hideki roared, bloody hands shooting out to clamp around Kyo’s neck with crushing strength.

“NG!” the blonde thrashed against the rack holding him up, arms straining against their bonds.

The door crashed open, his escorts and two other identically-suited men rushing in to pull Hideki off of him. The interrogator was livid – eyes wild, teeth bared – and didn’t release him right away. By the time they got him to loosen his grip, Kyo’s face had gone deep red and his eyes were rolled back into his skull. He was released from the rack and went crashing to the ground, gasping thinly for air.

“LET ME GO, I’M GOING TO FUCKING KILL HIM!”

“Come on, Hideki, come on. Let’s get to the doctor.” Masanori was keeping the man back with a strong hand against his chest. “We can get it sewn back together if we go _now_ , come on.”

Akio pressed the chunk of flesh into Masanori’s palm as he and another guard coaxed Hideki out of the room. He then went over and knelt next to Kyo, shaking his shoulder lightly. “Hey, you going to live?”

Kyo wheezed, eyes squeezed shut, and pushed at his escort’s giant hand weakly. It proved ineffective when, moments later, the powerful man hefted him up over one broad shoulder and carried him out of the room. The small blonde was disoriented and being swung around like a sack would probably have made him puke if there was anything left in his stomach. The elevator trip down to his cell was a blurry, swirling haze. When he was deposited on his plastic cot, he pressed into it shakily, trying to stabilize himself. His undershirt was tossed over his torso lightly, and then he was alone.

 _‘Damn_ ,’ he thought miserably, ‘ _I almost…’_

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**February 5 th \- 2:00 pm**

 Kyo’s legs shuffled weakly as he was escorted onto the elevator, stumbling with nearly every step. His head was bowed, hiding a rueful smile; if he was going back to Hideki, the man would almost certainly kill him this time. He would make sure the guards couldn’t stop him in time, and Kyo would die. At least then his secrets would remain safe, though the thought did little to settle his racing heart. Letting the men on either side of him support most of his weight, his mind drifted for the trip upstairs, and he never realized they were going up much higher than the usual two floors.

When the familiar bell chimed and the doors slid open, Kyo made it all the way out into the hall before he realized something was wrong and froze mid-step. He looked down. His bare feet were nestled deep in thick, beige carpet. The hall in front of the interrogation room was all pure white tile.

“Wha-… where am I?” he demanded, looking around. Walls painted with soft, comfortable colors, complemented by dark-stained wooden crown molding. Pictures on the walls, live plants potted in the corners. This looked like the inside of someone’s home.

“Boss wants to speak to you,” Akio replied, pushing him back into motion.

On his left, Masanori was grinning.

The blonde steeled himself, struggling to focus his hazy thoughts. He was finally going to learn whose custody he’d spent the last couple days in, and he refused to appear beaten down. Down at the end of the hall, Akio pulled open a wooden door and guided him through, shutting and locking it behind him.

A lot of information rushed into him at once, and he stood quietly in place while it all sunk in. He was in a bedroom – a large bed draped with silk blankets and half a dozen pillows; a nightstand on either side; a short, wide dresser; a large window; a solid wooden table with a matching chair – all done up in bold, masculine colors. The table had fully half of his attention on its own, solely for what sat on top of it. Half a dozen covered plates and bowls, steam drifting quietly from small vents in the tops, almost guaranteed to contain food. A single, pristine cigarette rested innocently by one of the bowls.

The other half of his attention was taken by the man standing in the center of the room, one hand adorned with dripping tattoos and subtle silver rings gripping the back of the desk chair lightly. The same height as Shinya with a far more masculine face and a bit more solid of a frame in a chic charcoal grey suit, this man wore authority like it was a comfortable winter jacket. Predatory eyes the color of dark chocolate stared down a slightly curved nose set between regally defined cheekbones. Kyo felt his heart skip a couple beats, and fought the instinct to cower just a little. For not being physically large, the man before him was deeply intimidating.

“Niikura,” Kyo whispered, the realization making him ill. “Kaoru Niikura.”

Thin lips parted in a pleased grin. “I’m glad we finally get to meet face to face, Mr. Nishimura. I’ve heard so much about you.”

The blonde’s mind swirled manically, everything he’d ever heard or read about the head of the Niikura family rushing to barrage him. Only a couple years older than himself, Kaoru had inherited his position from his uncle nearly eight years ago, and had only strengthened the already powerful organization despite his relative youth. He owned a larger chunk of Japan than any other mafia family, and he ran it with a skillful balance of a politician’s silver tongue and a dictator’s ruthless will.

“You can’t believe everything you hear,” he said cautiously, back pressing against the wooden door.

“I’ve come to trust these particular sources. Please, won’t you come in?” The older man beckoned.

Kyo didn’t budge so much as an inch, eyeing him warily.

“You know it’s highly unusual that anyone could hold out for as long as you have under Hideki’s… care. You must be remarkably devoted to Shinya Terachi.”

“What makes you think I have anything to do with anyone by that name?”

Kaoru nodded, moving around the chair to step towards his blonde captive. “It’s true; we picked up several young men matching your description before we found you. We couldn’t find a single photo suggesting your connection to the Terachi family. But you were the only one that came with a computer my best techs can’t crack open and who wasn’t begging to confess their life’s story after half an hour alone with Hideki. You are Tooru Nishimura, the Prophet of the Terachi family.”

Kyo dropped his head slightly. Of course, under closer scrutiny he couldn’t hope to pass as a simple office worker. If he’d been smarter, planned ahead better, perhaps he could have prepared a false life to confess for exactly this situation, set up his computer to launch onto a more banal false desktop. He just had honestly never believed anyone would find out about him, and it seemed horribly naïve now. Well, it was too late now. Kaoru came to a stop in front of him and he craned his neck to stare up at the man defiantly. His one good eye was sliding in and out of focus, and the door was most of what was holding him up, but still he stared.

“My name is Kyo. And I’m still not begging.”

“Kyo, then. I don’t expect you to beg. I brought you up here for a friendly chat, and a meal.” Kaoru gestured to the table with one graceful hand.

Kyo hissed, eyes pulled into thin, dark golden slits. “And what makes you think I want anything from you?”

“Relax. You will not be harmed in this room unless you force my hand, and by the same token, you’ll be rewarded for good behavior. As for the other…” the older man smiled almost kindly, and Kyo was deeply unsettled, “Well, you are human. The instinct to survive is a strong one.”

 _“_ …What do you want?” the blonde demanded, uncertain.

Kaoru took a step back and held one hand out, indicating the center of the room. “Today, I’m simply getting to know you, but you have to get cleaned up before I will allow you to eat. You will stand there, under the light, and undress for me.”

Kyo bristled with panicked offence and swung a fist at the older man’s face, only to find it deftly caught in one thin hand. He cried out, furious, as he was spun and his arm wrenched up behind him, his back now pressed against Kaoru’s chest. Growling and jerking against the tight grip, the blonde found himself very securely restrained.

Cool lips brushed against his ear. “Settle yourself, little one. You may have hoped to goad Hideki into killing you, but you’ll find that my patience stretches much further than his. Mine is the only kindness you will find here, and it must be earned. I can make all of your pains go away; the hunger, the withdrawal, the exhaustion, the aches and bruises. You just have to play the game.”

Kyo remained tense for a moment, then relaxed begrudgingly. How much dignity could he afford to cling to in this place anyway? He was released abruptly, stumbling to the middle of the room, where he stood and glared back over his shoulder at the older man. Dark eyes watched him coldly, waiting. Facing forward, unwilling to look into those terrible eyes anymore, he crossed his arms in front of himself and gripped the bottom hem of his undershirt. Bruised muscles screaming in pain, exhausted bones dragging at every moment, he slowly removed the garment. The thin cloth was dropped to one side, and small hands went down to undo the button and fly of his already-loose trousers.

Kaoru watched, entranced, as centimeter after fascinating centimeter of toned, pale flesh was exposed, every bit colored extravagantly with bruises, welts, scars, and tattoos. He moved in to circle the younger man slowly, fingertips brushing over soft skin with a feather light touch. Kyo shivered, hands held with unusual modesty to cover himself, as cool fingers ran over his shoulder blades and drifted down to the middle of his back, where several long, old scars crossed clumsily over his skin.

“Hmm… what are these, now?” Kaoru murmured to himself, curious. He didn’t see the blonde shut his eyes.

_The elder Terachi paced in front of his adopted son, eyes sharp. “What was on the card, Tooru?”_

_Kyo, still possessed of a small frame at thirteen years of age, was suspended from the ceiling by two chains attached to steel cuffs on his wrists. His best friend stood behind him, holding a long, thin band of leather that had been brought to bear on his naked back for the better part of half an hour. Certainly Shinya had become more skilled with the whip; the first such session he had torn up Kyo’s flesh with the thing and the blonde had nearly gone into shock from blood loss and pain before the doctors could stabilize him. The bandages hadn’t come off until weeks after, and he’d been informed that the wounds would leave scars._

_The young man shook his head stubbornly, biting back tears. If he had gained anything from the ten years spent with his real father, it was an unhealthy level of pain tolerance. He would not disappoint the Terachis; last time they’d practiced, he‘d given up the contents of his secret cue card after only forty minutes. He had to do better if he was going to get the blessing to stand at Shinya‘s side. Kunio’s pleased grin made warmth flood his heart, even as the older man gave the signal for Shinya to resume the assault on his back._

Fingers, cool and smooth, drifted over a full lower lip. A bruised, graceful throat. An exquisitely tattooed skull on one elegant collar bone swirling into a blue butterfly on one leanly muscled arm. A flat, fluttering belly, muscles ever so faintly defined. A sharp hipbone, tracing the sinuous lines of the tiger stamped over it. A dimple in the gentle curve from back to rounded buttocks. The blonde balled his fists and wished for this humiliation to be over.

“My but you’re a decadent little thing, aren’t you?” Kaoru breathed approvingly.

Dark gold eyes snapped open to glare at the older man, thin shoulders shaking with rage at the deliberate power play.

“Through that door is the bathroom.” The older man pointed to a second wooden door. “A change of clothes is on the sink. Once you are cleaned up, you can eat.”

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**February 5 th \- 3:00 pm**

A white wifebeater and thick grey pants with an elastic waistband made Kyo feel like he had ended up in prison. Freshly scrubbed, soft blond hair hanging in damp spikes around his face, he sat at the writing table and waited to hear the rules to whatever game Kaoru intended to play. He could _smell_ the food from this short distance, and his stomach was twisting noisily. The single white cigarette was taunting him, and his chest felt dry and crackly for want of it.

Kaoru stood, leaning against the table waiting patiently for the younger man to settle before reaching out a single hand. The covers were removed one by one, and the blonde nearly melted out of the seat. Grilled chicken, vegetables, rice, broth soup; all very simple and unadorned, the only things his stomach would be able to handle, but at the moment, it was the richest feast he’d ever set eyes upon. Smooth chopsticks with dull tips were pressed into his hands and he set into the food like a man possessed. He was torn between the knowledge that eating too fast would make him throw up, and the fear that Kaoru would take the meal away if he didn’t eat it all fast enough.

He was so distracted that he almost didn’t notice his “host” leave for several minutes, then return, or even the back of his shirt being hitched up, ever so gently.

“ANNH!” It was a valiant effort to bite back a scream as fingers prodded firmly into his bruises and wounds. He hunched over the table, gripping the edge desperately, pain shooting from surface wounds deep into his bones.

“Shhh, it’s okay. It’ll feel better in a second,” a low voice murmured overhead as the fingers continued to massage small areas of his back at a time.

The pain was so intense that for a long while, Kyo didn’t realize the older man was rubbing a salve into his skin. When the pain faded, it was replaced by a deeply soothing, warm numbness. He pressed his forehead against the table edge, panting, as the older man slowly worked his way down his back, then to his arms. The deep, jolting pain twined around the soft, sweet pleasure and the combination left his mind spinning out of control. Thin hands pulled him up to sit back, pulling the hem of his shirt up to his neck. Kaoru watched, fascinated, as the soft face twisted, crooked teeth gritted and bared while he applied the ointment to the younger man’s chest.

When he was finished, he stood back, screwing the cap back on the little jar, and watched shaking hands yank the thin white cotton shirt back into place. “Better?”

A thin sheen of sweat made Kyo’s forehead glisten, and he wiped it away weakly. “…Why?”

The older man smiled and ran one hand over soft, blonde hair. “Like I said. When you’re here, you will be rewarded for good behavior.”

A faint shuffle, and the familiar flick of a lighter brought Kyo’s eyes up. He watched, throat suddenly dry, as a slender flame was brought to bear on the end of the cigarette perched between Kaoru’s thin lips. The man took a long drag, collecting the smoke in his mouth without inhaling.

Kyo frowned. “What are y-”

Suddenly his captor’s mouth was on his, pushing smoke out that he greedily gasped in. One hand came up to grip the front of Kaoru’s shirt, whether to pull him closer or push him away, Kyo wasn’t sure. He held the smoke in his lungs as long as he could stand before slowly exhaling it from his nose with a soft, sighing whimper. Kaoru’s mouth lingered over his, slick tongue sliding over his lower lip appreciatively, before he was released with a faint wet sound. The cigarette was placed between his parted lips and he stared at the older man with wide, burnt gold eyes.

Kaoru smirked. “Are you going to let me go?”

It took Kyo a minute to figure out what he was talking about before he released his grip on the man’s shirt, sitting back in the chair. He took a deep drag off the cigarette before one trembling hand came up to hold it while he exhaled.

“I’m not going to tell you anything,” he growled, hunching slightly. This whole situation had him off balance, and he struggled to regain his grip on what was going on.

“I don’t recall asking you to,” was Kaoru’s cool response.

“Then what do you want from me?!”

Another fond hand ran over the back of his head, threading through his hair. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, hmm?”

 

**February 6 th \- 9:00 am**

“I know you had just a grand old time with the boss yesterday,” a seething voice hissed overhead, “But I get you all to myself for twenty-four hours, so try to make yourself comfortable.”

Kyo was shirtless, hanging from the ceiling by wide clamps around his forearms. Hideki was on a stepladder behind him, finishing some adjustments on the chains. They were just short enough that Kyo had to stand on the balls of his feet if he didn’t want to hang all of his weight on his shoulders. He had been returned to his cell early in the evening the day before, and had harbored a little glimmer of hope that Hideki would be out of commission for a little bit while his ear healed. His dreams of a day to himself were dashed against the cement floor of his little room when Akio and Masanori showed up early the next morning.

His interrogator, a thick white bandage taped over the side of his head, dropped off the ladder and came around to face him. The man had a somewhat wild look in his eyes, and a sadistic grin kept pulling at his mouth.

“How’s that?” he asked mockingly.

Kyo grunted, shifting his weight from foot to foot to reduce the strain. “’S a bit short.”

A broad hand slapped his exposed stomach, knocking the wind out of him, as deep laughter echoed around the room. “Don’t have any chains long enough for your little legs, I guess!”

The man went over to a wheeled metal table to fidget with the dials on a heavy black box, attached with long cables to a two-foot metal rod with a protective handle. Kyo watched from the corner of his eye. The thick leather glove that the large man used to pick up the protected end of the metal was deeply concerning.

“Boss asked me not to scar you too much, so we’re going to try to keep these right between first and second degree,” Hideki said conversationally, moving again to stand behind his captive. “‘Try’ being the operative word, of course.”

The rod hissed as it burned the flesh across Kyo’s shoulder blades, and the blonde let out an ear-splitting scream that shook the air in the room. It was held there for only a few seconds, but when it was removed the agonizing pain stayed behind. As his wailing came to a choking, gasping stop, Kyo panted wildly, “Aren’t you going to ask me anything?!”

“Nah. If you want to talk, go right ahead and I’ll stop. Maybe. Honestly, all I want is to hear you scream.”

Hideki’s wish was granted as another stripe was branded across his back a scant inch under the first one, wrenching another horrible wail from the smaller man’s throat. Tears stung the blonde’s dark golden eyes and he fought to hold them back. Holding in his screams proved a futile effort. At his back, Hideki laughed and laughed, a horrible sound that echoed back and forth across the room until Kyo was surrounded.

 

**February 6 th \- 11:00 pm**

Gritting his teeth, Kyo fought to gather up the strength in his arms. He had been attempting this for over half an hour, ever since Hideki him alone left for the night, and it was absolutely exhausting. Gripping the chain suspending him with both hands, he pulled himself up slowly, then jerked his arms up rapidly, trying to get the loop the chain was attached to off of the hook on the ceiling. The loop hit the point of the hook, and balanced there for a horrible moment. Eyes wide, Kyo held his breath and tried to steady himself before jerking his arms again, up and forward.

The loop came free of the hook, and Kyo went crashing to the floor, legs too weak to catch his weight. He tried to catch himself on his hands but got tangled in the bindings and ended up taking most of the force on his left hand, which bent horribly on impact, before his head crashed into the cement with a sickening sound. Electric pain spiked up his wrist and he fell to his side the floor, mouth open in a silent scream. Panting, trying not to hyperventilate, he dragged himself under the metal table and curled up around his bound hands. His escorts would find him there, half-delirious with pain, when they came to fetch him in the morning.

 

**February 7 th \- 8:00 am**

Akio and Masanori carried the limp figure between them, depositing it face-down on the bed at their boss’s gestured command and leaving the room silently. The body stirred weakly, moaning, but lacked the will to move otherwise. Kaoru looked over Kyo’s back and arms, taking in countless crisscrossed stripes of blistered, red burn marks. New bruises had surfaced, dark ones around the man’s forearms where shackles had held him, and his left wrist was an ugly blotchy mess, swollen horribly and likely sprained. Blond hair was nearly black with blood from a deep gash stretched over a knot on the side of his head.

“Hideki is in high spirits this morning.”

The bloody-blond head rolled to expose a battered face, eyes rimmed with black and full lips split and swollen. “Here I was hoping he’d finally lost his shit and killed me.” His voice was all but gone from a day of screaming.

“Afraid not, little one. You’ve made it through to another day.” Kaoru’s voice was amused.

“I think I’m already half naked. Does that get me anything?”

The older man chuckled and stepped forward, sitting on the bed next to his captive. "Your willingness to negotiate is encouraging. You may have some burn cream and a nap. I have meetings to go to this morning, but you get to sleep in here until I’m done.”

Kyo eyed the jar in the man’s hands warily. “Yay. Do all your prisoners get so much personal attention, or am I just lucky?”

“Only the cute ones.”

“I am _not-_ SON OF A BITCH!” the blonde fisted his hands in the blankets under him, writhing painfully as Kaoru began to apply the burn ointment, “Gaahhhh, fuck _me_.”

“It is very tempting, but like I said, I have meetings. Maybe later?”

Kyo gritted his teeth against even the faint friction of the man’s fingertips against his burns and snarled in warning. “You’re not exactly shy, are you?”

“Should I be? I’m Kaoru Niikura, I can have and do just about whatever I want. The only thing anyone else needs to concern themselves with is getting it for me in a timely manner.”

“You can go right on ahead and fuck yourself. I’m not particularly inclined to just bend over and offer up like some damn call girl.”

“I somehow expected as much. Perhaps we can negotiate further later?”

“Lucky me.”

“There now. Are there any burns on your stomach?”

“Hnn-nn,” the blonde mumbled, eyes drifting shut as the salve started to kick in, sending a lovely coolness through his body. The silk covers under his battered frame seemed to be swallowing him, and he sunk into their embrace wearily. He felt gentle fingers graze over the back of his neck before the bed shifted, the soft click of the door signaling Kaoru’s exit from the room.

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**February 7 th \- 4:00 pm**

“Come on now, get in the tub. The water is cold; your back will be fine.” Kaoru was in a good mood when he returned. He had patiently coaxed Kyo awake, nude, and into the bathroom, but the younger man was reluctant to sit in the tub and be bathed by his captor.

“I can wash myself just fine,” Kyo hissed, hovering by the bathroom door, one hand shielding his privates from view. The left was curled protectively against his side, the lingering pain in his wrist flaring viciously whenever he tried to move it.

“That may very well be true. But I have told you to get in the tub, and that’s what you will do unless you want to be sent back downstairs. I know Hideki would be more than happy to spend some after-hours time with you.”

The blonde scowled and thought on his options, eyeing the bathroom door. He knew that he should go back downstairs; that his duty to his family demanded he do whatever was necessary to protect their secrets which, in this case, meant pushing Hideki’s buttons until the man finally finished him. But another, less rational and more urgent part of him was making it all but impossible to deliberately get himself killed, and beyond that, a very small part of him – an utterly terrifying corner of his mind – craved the comfort and peace that came from the visits to this room. It was degrading, and Kyo feared what more Kaoru would begin to ask from him, but he was taken care of here. He was fed good food, cleaned, dressed in fresh clothes, and his wounds were tended. Compared to what happened downstairs with Hideki, this was heaven _._ Assuming, of course, he swallowed his pride and played the game.

He growled under his breath and moved grudgingly into the tub, sitting carefully on the plastic stool placed inside it. Kaoru – stripped of his suit jacket with his shirtsleeves rolled up neatly to just over his elbows – balanced on the edge of the tub and took up the detachable shower head. Just as he had promised, the water was quite cold and felt absolutely exquisite on Kyo’s scalded back, though the rest of him was hit with a shock of shivering and pale goosebumps.

Kyo huddled miserably on the stool as he was carefully washed down from head to toe. Staring at the blood streaking off of him across the white tile flooring of the tub, he wondered distantly what Shinya would think to see him like this. That pride he was supposed to be swallowing was screaming that he should be fighting the older man, that he should kill him and try to escape, or kill him and let himself be killed in retribution. The second one was more likely. He was, by his best estimate, at least twenty floors up, and countless Niikura guards lay between him and the outside world. And that was assuming that he could overpower Kaoru in his weakened state.

“There we go.”

The water was shut off, and he was given a plush white towel. Kaoru helped him to his feet and out of the tub onto a soft white bath rug, watching as he delicately dried himself. Kyo was wary; the man’s eyes had darkened to nearly-black and were slightly hooded, and he was standing _very_ close. He froze, towel clutched to his chest, when a hand came up to rest against his cheek. A thumb brushed over his lower lip slowly, and another hand settled dangerously low on his hip. They stood that way, velvet black eyes staring down into burnt gold for what felt like ages before Kaoru stepped back. He led the blonde back into the bedroom, where he applied another layer of burn ointment and helped the younger man into a fresh set of clothes.

“…How long is this going to go on? How long do we have to play these games before you just kill me or try to ransom me back?” Kyo demanded as Kaoru wrapped his left wrist carefully with a stretchy bandage. He deliberately skipped over the third option, even though it was the one his captor clearly, shamelessly seemed to favor.

“That depends on you, I suppose. Whenever you give up what you know about the Terachi family, you will of course be released from interrogation. Whether or not you have a home to return to, should I choose to release you, is up to Terachi – depending on his willingness to negotiate.” The older man guided him into the desk chair and proceeded to uncover yet another large meal of simple foods. “You should know that I’m not Kunio Terachi. I don’t waste lives that may prove to be valuable to my interests. You will not die here, so long as I have a say in the matter, but you’re unlikely to leave either.”

Kyo nodded, setting into the food at a deliberate pace. He had expected Kaoru’s answer, but it didn’t make the weight on his shoulders any lighter for hearing it aloud.

 

**February 8 th \- 2:00 am**

Kyo tossed and turned uneasily on his cot, sleeping fitfully. After napping in Kaoru’s plush bed, the horrible little plastic thing was almost unbearable. The occasional dream about his captor haunted him as well, waking him once to find himself soaked with sweat and shaking, badly confused. As such, he was half awake already when the sound of his cell door unlocking echoed softly through his tiny room and brought dark gold eyes open, cautious. The lights in the hallway were visible through his little window; still dimmed for night time. When the door opened, he was on his feet, tucked in the corner where his cot met the wall, and his breath caught in his throat when Hideki crossed the threshold. The man’s massive frame filled the tiny room, and Kyo felt his heart speed into a frenzied pace when the door was shut and locked again behind the man.

“What are you doing here?”

“I don’t get paid enough to have my ear bitten off by queer little shits like you.” The man’s voice was dangerously low, and confident. “Fortunately for the boss, I _do_ accept non-monetary compensation. Fringe benefits, if you will.”

Kyo’s eyes widened, then narrowed. There were very few things that could mean, and none of them bode well for him. He couldn’t run from this, couldn’t talk his way out of it, leaving him with nothing but a desperate gambit; he shot forward and sent his right fist crashing into the bandage covering the man’s torn ear. The larger man reeled back in pain briefly before large hands shot out to grab the blonde by his hair and right arm, slamming him into the wall of the cell and pinning him there with overwhelming force. He bucked wildly as hot breath panted against one of his ears.

“It’s too bad you’re a biter. I’d love to fuck that pretty mouth, watch you choke and cry with my dick down your throat. Suppose you look enough like a bitch from behind.” The hand on his hair left to pull at his pants, pushing them off of narrow hips while the grip on his right arm wrenched the limb further and further up his back. Teeth grazed over his ear and he shuddered, “Maybe I should return your favor, hmm?”

“Get-… off of me!” Kyo wheezed, trying to breathe as he was crushed into the wall.

He was yanked around abruptly and pushed facedown onto his cot, one thick thigh pressing cruelly into his unprotected groin to keep his ass in the air while Hideki undid his fly one-handed. Panic rippled through the small blonde as something slick and horrible pressed against his entrance, and he clawed at the cot desperately with his crippled left hand.

“NO! GET O-AAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHH!” Kyo’s shriek tore at his throat as his arm was released and large hands gripped his hips, holding them in place as he was brutally penetrated. The man had lubricated himself, likely for his own comfort, but it did almost nothing to spare the small blonde as he was ripped open.

“Yessss, scream for me like a good little bitch,” Hideki panted, eyes rolling back momentarily, “Nnnnnngggg, _god_ you’re tight…”

The smaller blonde gasped for breath and bit into his arm to muffle his cries – to deny his interrogator the pleasure – as the man behind him shoved deeper and deeper into him, tearing him in two. The man behind him was ruthless, thrusting in and out of him at a vicious pace with a horrible wet, slapping sounds punctuated by his grunts and Kyo’s muffled whimpers. He felt a thin trail of blood trickle down one thigh and failed to hold back the fat tears that pooled in his eyes.

One hand left his hip to grab a fistful of his hair and wrench his head back, forcing him to release his arm as Hideki snarled overhead, “Don’t! Don’t you dare hold back! I want to hear everything!”

“S-STOP, PLEASE STOP!” Kyo sobbed, voice breaking and giving out under the pressure of the keening wail that was building up in his chest.

The sounds of the smaller man’s anguish, ranging from stuttering whimpers to full on screams after particularly deep thrusts, drove Hideki absolutely mad. Both hands returned to slender hips to give him leverage as he slammed in and out of the blonde with wild abandon. With one final, brutal push he groaned his completion, fingers digging deep into soft flesh. He remained that way for what seemed like an eternity, savoring the tight heat around his spent member and the soft, hysterical weeping from the smaller man underneath him. Eventually he released his grip and jerked out, standing back to tuck himself back into his pants. He watched, deeply pleased, as Kyo scrambled to huddle in the corner, skinny legs clutched to his chest, tear-stained face hidden against his knees, shaking with sobs. One shaking hand came up to grip the silver skull pendant dangling at his throat.

Grinning, the larger man light up a cigarette and knocked twice at the door for Masanori to let him out, calling carelessly over his shoulder, “See you in the morning, sunshine."

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

**February 8 th \- 9:00 am**

Kyo pulled weakly at the shackles on his wrists and ankles. His skin was pale and grey, covered in goosebumps, and he was shivering uncontrollably. The water he was submerged in was bone cold, and his body’s futile attempts to keep warm were draining his energy quickly. His interrogator was kicked back comfortably in a chair next to the tub, a pile of heavy thermal blankets stacked neatly on his other side.

“Techies say there’s probably some kind of key that opens your computer, like a flash drive or some shit with the codes to get past all the encryptions. We’ve got people tearing your apartment apart looking for it, but so far all we can find are CDs and notebooks full of queer-ass poetry. Tell me where the key is, and I’ll let you out of the tub. Maybe even give you a blanket,” the peroxide blonde offered congenially. He was in a disgustingly good mood today.

“G-go f-f-fuc-ck your-rself-f-f,” Kyo murmured through chattering teeth. He was too far gone, mentally and physically, to even bother with his lies.

One large hand reached out almost casually and pushed his head under the water. He thrashed in absolute panic, jerking wildly at his chains and trying to find some purchase against the slick steel of the tub walls. Bubbles exploded out of him and only when they ran thin was he allowed to resurface, coughing and gasping for air. Hideki shook the water off his hand lazily and sat back in his chair again.

“All you’ve got to do is give me the key, and you can go back to spreading for the boss. Won’t ever have to see me again. Bet you’d be the most well-kept whore in all of Japan.”

“G-g-go f-f-fuc-”

Before he could finish his sentence, he was pushed under again. Even as he fought to get back to the surface, part of him hoped that Hideki would keep him under just a little too long. He could just drown, taking all of his shame and misery with him. Shinya’s secrets would be safe, and his own suffering would end. But again, he was released before he could pass that final threshold, and a damnable survival instinct had him gasping down air before he could stop himself. If he didn’t fall unconscious at some point, it was going to be a very long day.

 

**February 9 th \- 10:00 am**

Kyo stood quietly between his escorts, arms limp in their grips. His clothes, after his extended soak, were clean of all signs of Hideki’s forceful violation the morning before, but he still walked with a wobbly limp and his eyes were shadowed. A dull, nearly apathetic sort of confusion struck him as he was walked past the familiar wooden door to his only place of reprieve and taken down a different hallway to large double-doors. They were opened simultaneously, and he was let loose into the most lavish office space he’d ever seen.

The entire rear wall was windows, tinted on the outside and undoubtedly bullet-proof. In front of them was a massive solid wood desk, a magnificent state-of-the-art computer half buried under stacks of papers held in place by hematite and obsidian paperweights. A high-backed chair for the owner of the office rested behind the desk, while two shorter, cushioned chairs sat in front of it. Well-stocked bookshelves lined one wall while a large, plush couch and a massive entertainment system took up the other.

He recognized Kaoru in the high-backed chair behind the desk, digging irately through paperwork, but the impossibly tall man with a shock of cherry red hair draped over the couch was a mystery to him. The man wore black sunglasses preventing Kyo from seeing all of his face, but the nose and mouth seemed very vaguely familiar. He jumped slightly, startled, as the office doors were closed behind him and he was left alone with the two men.

Several long moments of silence strained at Kyo’s already frayed nerves, and he was almost grateful when the redhead stretched languidly and stood up from the couch. “Hey, Kao.”

“Hmm?” Kaoru looked up, blinking. “Oh, come on in, Mr. Nishimura, have a seat.” He gestured to the chairs in front of his desk.

Kyo hesitated, but a large hand on his back guided him forward and into one of the chairs. The blonde caught the subtle hints of multiple pistols hidden on the tall man’s person and understood why the man looked so familiar. “You’re… an Andou? What happened to Shigeru?”

A brilliant grin flashed under those dark glasses. “Father retired with Kaoru’s uncle. You don’t guard a man every day of your life just to give up on it when he quits his job. They’re up north somewhere fishing, getting drunk, and bitching about their wives.”

Kyo’s stare was blank as he sank into the chair.

“My name is Daisuke. Call me Die.”

“…Kyo,” the blonde replied softly.

“Mr. Nishimura, one of my people found something and I was wondering if you might know what it is.” Kaoru stood and came around to the front of the desk, holding out a small card.

Kyo took one look at the card and his eyes widened, his face going a sickly grey. One shuddering hand came up to his mouth. He convulsed once and hunched over, throwing up water and bile violently, thankful to Die for the trashbin he very quickly supplied. Over his head, Kaoru raised a curious eyebrow and Die shrugged. The card was strange, for sure, but it seemed innocent enough. Just thick, laminated paper with a hole punched through the middle, the same image of a blue butterfly on both sides.

“Wh-where did you get that?” Kyo choked, reaching up to take the card with a shuddering hand. He tore a thin strip of laminate plastic off the top of the card and pulled out a small picture from between the two butterflies. 

“A mole. What does it mean?”

“It’s… it’s a hit. Shinya… put a hit out on me.” Wide eyes filled with hurt looked down at the tiny image of himself from the waist up, a hole punched straight through his chest.

Kaoru frowned at the tiny envelope. “Why put your picture inside? Surely there are more subtle ways of getting the word out.”

One hand ran self-consciously over the butterfly tattooed on his right shoulder. “The butterfly… it’s me, it’s the avatar I use when I contact people. Only a couple people in the family know who I am so… so he sent out a picture… oh gods… he… he’s given up on me! If everyone knows who I am… I can never come back… I can never work… oh _gods…_ ”

Small hands tangled into blonde hair as Kyo curled in on himself, gasping desperately for air. He felt like his lungs were being crushed by the weight of the sudden panic filling his chest, the hope he hadn’t realized he’d still clung to abruptly cut out of him. What was he going to do now? Even if he somehow escaped, he couldn’t go back, everyone would know who he was, he’d be killed on sight. How could Shinya do this to him, after everything he’d gone through to protect the man?! He’d been beaten, whipped, burned, half-drowned, frozen, electrocuted, raped, and now he was being cut loose? This life was the only one he knew, he had nothing else!

“Come on, kid, breathe now, breathe.” Die reached out a hand to pat the smaller man's back.

Kyo shrieked and flung himself at the tall redhead, catching the man buy surprise and knocking him to the ground, landing squarely on his chest. He beat the man hysterically with both fists, ignoring the screaming pain in his left wrist. “DON’T TOUCH ME YOU BASTARD! THIS IS YOUR FAULT, YOU RUINED EVERYTHING! I HAVE NOTHING NOW, YOU SON OF A BITCH!”

“Shit!”

Die took a couple blows to the face, sunglasses skittering across the floor, before he could catch the younger man’s flailing limbs in his larger hands. The small blonde bucked against the hold briefly until he got a look at the man’s face. He could see the need for sunglasses; Die had unwaveringly kind eyes that robbed him of all the intimidation his height suggested. The sympathy in those eyes sapped away the flare of Kyo's anger, leaving only his deep-seated grief and exhaustion, and he stilled his struggles, head hung and body wracked with sobs. He allowed Kaoru to pull him off Die’s chest and guide him out into the hall, the bodyguard climbing to his feet to follow close behind.

“What am I going to do?” he wondered, eyes heavy with tears, as they passed into the familiar bedroom. “I have… nothing left.”

“Hush now. Go get yourself cleaned up, I’ll be in in a minute to fix your wrist.” Kaoru watched the little blonde disappear into the bathroom, then turned to face Die. “…Well.”

“Yeah. What are you going to do with him, Kao?” Die wasn’t usually one to sympathize with an enemy, but he knew enough about Kyo’s relationship with Shinya Terachi that he couldn’t help but wonder how he’d feel if his own lifelong friend put a hit out on him, and he shuddered at the thought. He’d been at Kaoru’s side his entire life; he couldn’t imagine suddenly being without the man. “I mean... do you think this will change anything?”

Kaoru frowned thoughtfully. “We’ll keep him here for now. Ironically enough, this is probably the only place he’ll be safe. I’m… not sure if all of this will make him more or less willing to talk… it might be just what we needed to get him to open up. Either way, I think I’m tired of waiting around while Terachi eats away at my borders, and I still have something he wants. Daisuke, I want a messenger sent into Terachi territory to initiate negotiations.”

Die bowed his head and left the room, slipping his cell phone out of his suit pocket as the door shut behind him. Kaoru dug out another roll of bandages and went to join his captive in the restroom.

He found the blonde standing half naked, shirt clutched loosely in his right hand at his side, still and silent as he stared at himself in the mirror. Over the course of a single, short week his already-lean frame had become sadly skinny, all bone and whipcord muscle. One eye was blackened, both were sunken and framed with shadows, burnt gold battered to a dull brown. Smooth skin, once a healthy tan with vibrantly clear tattoos, was now deeply bruised, welted, burnt, bloodied, and raw. Kyo looked slowly from the mirror to small, crumpled photograph in his swollen left hand. He could hardly recognize the face grinning wickedly up from the little paper, the strong body wearing a clean, pressed suit.

Kaoru came up and took the photo away gently, setting it on the bathroom sink before unwrapping the blonde’s wrist carefully. “If you need to hit Die, you really should stick to just your right hand.”

Kyo examined the new image in the mirror, with Kaoru close by him. It was a strange one, and it gave him an uneasy feeling. The older man was only a little taller than him – maybe half a head – but his presence filled the room. Power and entitlement rolled off the man; he was used to getting what he wanted, when he wanted, no questions asked. And yet, all Kyo had seen of the man was the patient ministrations of thin hands on his various wounds. A faint whisper in the back of his mind tried to make him understand _why_ he had only seen this side of the notorious Kaoru Niikura – tried to reveal to him the game being played, because it was one he should know and be paying attention to – but he simply couldn't focus anymore over the pain, hunger, fatigue, loss, and nicotine withdrawal.

Strong, skilled hands rewrapped a swollen wrist that radiated heat. “You’re limping today.”

Dull eyes sank miserably at the reminder. “…Yeah. Probably will be for a couple days.”

Dark chocolate eyes stared intently at the blonde’s reflection. “What happened? Nothing on the report I was given included anything that should have damaged your legs.”

A bitter laugh. “Hideki collected his wages.”

Kaoru bristled, eyes widening for a fraction of a second, and Kyo imagined the hackles of a dog rising. “What the hell does that mean?”

“It was… what did he say… ‘non-monetary compensation.’ Hazard pay for what I did to his ear.”

There was a long pause before Kaoru’s hand came around to grip Kyo’s chin gently, turning him around to look up into near-black eyes. Dark gold flared briefly with anger, then wavered and faded tiredly into miserable honey-brown as full lips quivered dangerously. He had already cried in front of this man once today, his already-damaged pride balked at the thought of it happening again. The older man’s gaze lowered slowly to catch on eight circular bruises, four on each side, marring the blonde’s narrow waist just where it flared into his hips. Perfect fingerprints. The hand not holding his chin drifted over the marks, almost imperceptibly light.

“I see.”

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

**February 10 th \- 2:00 pm**

Kyo was curled up in a plush bed, head buried in downy pillows and silky blankets drawn up to his ears. Hazy burnt-gold eyes stared blankly out the window, watching snow fall silently. He was under the impression that this room was not, as he’d originally assumed, Kaoru’s personal bedroom, since the older man had left him early the previous evening and he was still alone now. In the oppressive silence of the room, unable to hide in sleep any longer, he trapped in his thoughts.

_‘He raped me… no, don’t think about that.’_

_'Why did Kaoru seem so upset about it?'_

_'Probably just mad Hideki beat him to the punch… stop thinking about that!'_

_'Has Shinya truly given up on me?'_

_'He would never put out a card if he wasn’t committed to it…’_

He shook his head, hiding his face in the pillow.

_‘Don’t be stupid, he had to do it to protect the family, of course the whole family is more important than just me...'_

_'I never told them anything!'_

_'Why is Kaoru keeping me up here?'_

_'…Well, obviously, he wants to fuck me.'_

_'Why hasn’t he?'_

_'He must be trying to trick me… am I still going to be interrogated?'_

_'Is Hideki going to… no, don’t think about that.'_

_'Should I… unlock the computer?'_

_'No, NO! I can’t give up on Shinya!'_

_'Except… he gave up on me. There’s no going back now…'_

_'But this is the only life I know, what else could I do?'_

_'Should I… try to make a place here?'_

_'No, NO! What the hell is wrong with you, Kyo?!'_

_'You can’t just switch sides!'_

_'But… they’ll kill me if I ever leave this place…'_

_'I should just let them and die honorably but…'_

_'I can’t just lie down and die can I?’_

He laughed bitterly into soft sheets, throat torn raw from days of screaming. “Oh, Kunio… I guess you were right. I’m not cut out for this business.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. You are, if nothing else, surprisingly resilient.”

The low voice from the doorway made the blonde head rise, dark gold eyes peering over the edge of the pillow. Kaoru walked in, shutting the door softly behind him. Kyo didn’t hear the lock click, but it hardly seemed to matter given his options should he try to escape.

“You’re looking better this afternoon.”

“There’s something wrong with you,” Kyo accused.

Long legs in pressed black wool crossed casually as the older man settled on the edge of the bed. “Oh?”

“You’re not supposed to be _nice_ to prisoners and hostages!”

Black hair swayed as Kaoru nodded sagely. “Mmm, I suppose it must seem a bit unorthodox to you. The Terachis are renowned for their brutal treatment of enemies of the family.”

Kyo snarled, frustrated. “That’s how you get information out of people! You have to know that; Hideki works for you, and you seem to get plenty of use out of him! Dozens of families all over the country don‘t cower at your name because of your legendary compassion; Kaoru Fucking Niikura is not supposed to be a damn nursemaid!”

“That’s true enough.” Kaoru leaned back on his hands, looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully. “You asked me before, if all of my prisoners got such personal attention from me.”

After a pause, Kyo nodded slightly. “You gave me a bullshit answer.”

“I did. Truthfully, your looks are only a small fraction of what drives me to keep bringing you up here, instead of leaving you downstairs for my people to deal with as I normally would. Certainly I find you attractive enough, but I have countless attractive men and women at my disposal.”

Kyo was familiar with the perks of the empire. They were all the reasons people joined criminal families, and all of the things he sacrificed in order to remain anonymous. For all the good that anonymity had done him.

“No, I deal with you myself because I find you terribly fascinating to watch. Every time you come to me, you’re more broken and beaten down than the time before. And yet, every day you come back as stubborn and angry as ever. Tending your wounds is like stirring the ashes of a phoenix.”

“And what happens when I burn out for good? You discard me and return to your hoards of concubines?”

“Those are awfully loaded questions, little one.”

Kyo bristled at the endearment. “I’m not a child.”

“I had noticed. Are you offering to ‘burn out?’ To give up and tell me what I want to know? Or are you afraid of being discarded when it happens?”

The blonde looked away, scowling. “I just want to know where I stand. If Tezuka or Nakago had captured me, I would at least know what to expect.”

“Tezuka would never have been able to figure out who you are. Even with my resources, it was half luck. Nakago… if he did manage, he’d have killed you after the second day. He’s always been one for sending bloody messages.”

Kyo leaned forward, crossing his arms on top of his knees and resting his chin on them, too tired to keep up his bluster when Kaoru remained so unruffled. “So, what happens to me after a week with the Niikura family?”

“You get dressed. We’re going out tonight.”

 

**February 10 th \- 7:00 pm**

Sitting in the back of a glossy black limo, tucked close to Kaoru’s side, Kyo found he could hardly hear anything through the pounding of his own heart. Die and Akio were comfortably settled in the side seat to the left, Masanori and a new guard named Yasunari on the right, all of them wearing identical crisp black suits. Kaoru was as immaculate as always in a charcoal grey suit and subtle silver jewelry, looking particularly smug. Kyo felt oddly exposed in a black, ribbed tank top and baggy black pants, even if the outfit was wholly unassuming. Even his bandages were neatly rewrapped with pristine white cloth.

He was out of his little cell, out of Kaoru’s ‘guest room,’ out of the building that hid the Niikura operations. Only a day ago this would have been the answer to his prayers, but now… now he didn’t know what he wanted. Should he try to escape, with a price on his head and nowhere to go? Or should he betray every value his adoptive father had instilled in him and turn his back on his family simply for the sake of survival?

Thin hands twined through his hair and cool lips brushed over his ear. “Relax.”

Kyo looked around the limo, unsettled by the uncomfortably intimate gesture, but the other men were all conspicuously double-checking their earbuds and weapons. “You still haven’t told me where we’re going.”

“A little bar out on my southern border. Don’t worry so much, we’re just going to have some drinks and meet some... friends.”

Kyo tensed further. The vast majority of Kaoru’s southern border butted up against the northern edge of Shinya’s. The limo pulled up in front of a building that flashed with neon and throbbed with music, hoards of scantily dressed twenty-somethings milling about the sidewalk in front. Dark gold eyes peered out of tinted windows, catching on the all-too familiar image of an elaborate flower dripping red.

“The Bloody Lotus…” Kyo’s eyes were wide, and he was frozen in his seat. The driver had come around to open the door, and soon only he remained inside. His captor’s hand tugged lightly on his upper arm, not expecting the resistance it met.

Chocolate eyes turned back curiously. “Mr. Nishimura?”

“I can’t go in there! This bar is barely yours, what if there are Terachi people in there? They’ll kill me!” Kyo was hissing, pushing at Kaoru’s hand. Of all the places they could have gone! This bar was in territory contested by the Niikuras and the Terachis, and he had visited it nearly every day as a child, and three times a week since he turned sixteen. Anyone who knew him would be looking for him here.

“They will absolutely not. You’ll be with me the whole time, and it’s a crowded bar. No one’s going to risk shooting you.”

“Then they’ll grab me and take me somewhere quiet so they can murder me in peace! These people don’t exactly take hits as polite suggestions!”

“Kyo!” A firm hand gripped his chin and forced him to meet stern black eyes. “You’re going to have to trust me.”

The blonde stayed firm for several long moments until the conviction in Kaoru’s voice made him gave in and allow himself to be guided out of the car. What choice did he have, really? Kaoru kept Kyo close to his side and Die shadowed the older man on his other side. The other three formed a protective shield behind them. A pair of bulky men in sleeveless shirts and sagging shorts nodded and unclipped a heavy red rope to allow them into the overcrowded building.

Directly to the right, an expansive bar stretched out in front of them, reaching all the way to the back of the club. Above the bar was a roped-off alcove partially obscured by curtains, offering inhabitants a secluded view of most of the bottom floor. To the left a short ramp opened out onto a large dance floor, writhing with bodies and flashing a rainbow of colors hypnotically. Past the dance floor was a raised stage with a DJ station off to the far left and a large projector screen shining lyrics and videos onto the wall. In front of the screen stood a smaller monitor and four microphones for karaoke.

Kyo shivered, eyes closing for one blissful moment as music washed through him and made his chest throb with every beat. He hadn’t noticed how much the silence of the past week had been eating away at him until now, and for a moment only the light pressure on his back was keeping his feet moving. It was karaoke night and though one could hardly hear the person shyly singing on the stage over the music, the blonde yearned to take up the familiar microphone. He was so distracted watching the singer that he nearly tripped going up the stairs to the private alcove.

“We’re a bit early yet,” Kaoru murmured, sliding into a comfortable chair behind a large table.

Die settled next to his boss while Akio and Yasunari took up their positions on either side of the entryway. Masanori took up a post by one of the curtains, surveying the floor below. Kyo was awkwardly trying to decide what to do with himself when a soft cry sounded from the stairs and made him jump, startled. He was frozen with shock as he was brought into a crushing embrace, face pressed deeply into pale cleavage while a low voice chattered away in French over his head.

Around the room, hands reached into jackets for guns, halted by a sharp gesture from Kaoru. The woman currently fawning over his captive was a bartender he was familiar with, and considered trustworthy. She was in her late forties, a professionally tight bun of hair on top of her head contrasting with a low-cut top revealing a thick coating of tattoos. She was tall and lean, but on the muscular side with a severe-looking face and had obvious strength in her frame.

She released Kyo from the crushing hug only to cup his face. “Look at you, beau! You’re all beat up! What happened to you, we’ve all been so worried!” Her voice was thickly accented, and a bit guttural.

Kyo smiled shakily up at his old friend, trying to hide the excruciating pain her welcome had inflicted. “I’m okay, Miss Clara. I was… ah… in a car accident.” His tongue still fumbled over the awkward syllables in her name, after all this time.

“What?! Someone hit you?! Are you okay, why didn’t you come tell us?!” She eyed Kaoru suspiciously, leaning down to whisper into Kyo’s ear. "Do you need help? Should I call the police?"

He shook his head quickly - there was no way that could end well - “No, no, I’m fine. I was just in the hospital for a while. They… thought I might have a concussion. I’m just… hanging out with some friends tonight.” The lies sounded stiff even in his own ears.

Bright blue eyes looked him over critically, but she accepted the story. “Well, beau, it’s karaoke night. You better get up on that stage and sing something extra nice for making me worry like that. People have been bailing out early all week since you stopped showing up!”

Kyo fidgeted uncomfortably and gestured to his neck. “My, ah… my throat is kind of sore…”

“Mais, non! We’ll get you some honey tea and you’ll be just fine! Mon beau does _not_ miss karaoke night for a little cough. I’m sure your… _friends_ can spare you for a song or two.”

Kaoru nodded graciously, hands folded under his chin, eyes bright with deeply amused interest. “Of course.”

“See? I’ll have Kouji queue up something nice for you to sing for me.” She ruffled his hair affectionately before turning to address Kaoru, abruptly cold and businesslike. “And shall I prepare your usual, Mr. Niikura?”

“Yes, Ms. Benoit, that would be lovely.” Kaoru, the smug bastard, could produce a very passable French accent to properly pronounce the name.

She nodded and swept out of the room as suddenly as she’d come, and Kyo was left feeling impossibly awkward under the curious stares of the other men in the room. He sat slowly, leaving a couple chairs between himself and Kaoru, and splayed his fingers carefully on the table. This situation was very quickly spiraling out of his realm of comprehension, and he was struggling to reconcile the clash of his captor and the tiny shred of a social life he thought he’d never see again. Kaoru leaned forward, and even Die was perked up with interest.

“ _So_ , Mr. Nishimura.”

Kyo winced. “…Yeah?”

“It would seem you’re somewhat… famous here. I had no idea.”

The blonde fidgeted, picking at a shallow cut in the table’s surface. It had nothing to do with Shinya or the Terachi family, so, “…My dad was a bouncer here before he went to jail, and Clara used to let me hang out behind the bar after school until he was off.”

Die grinned. “People _leave_ when you don’t show up for karaoke?”

Kaoru nodded, a smirk tugging at one corner of his lips. “I’ll admit to a certain curiosity as well.”

“You want me to go up on stage, by myself, and announce my presence to the dozens of people in this bar that currently want to kill me?” Kyo’s voice was incredulous.

“Akio will go with you, of course. He’ll be right behind the stage curtains if anything happens.” Kaoru nodded decisively, sitting back in his chair. “Some entertainment will be nice while we kill time.”

Kyo knew he should argue more – it was a terrible risk considering the price on his head, and part of him bristled at being relegated to Kaoru’s entertainment – but the lure of once again being on stage, surrounded by music, singing to a writhing, cheering crowd… The temptation was strong, and half-hearted protests died on his lips. When Clara returned with tea for him and dark beers for Kaoru and Die, he was quickly bustled onto the stage by the older woman and familiar voices called out greetings from all around him. Suddenly he was there, creaking wood underfoot, a cheap microphone clutched lovingly in one hand, lights flashing in and out of his eyes, and a cheerful wave from the DJ as a new song started up. To be in control, to be strong and confident again, if only for a brief time...

Familiar music blasted out of the speakers, guitars and drums pounding out an introduction that made him shiver with anticipation, and he let his reservations die. His pain faded, his anxiety swallowed by the thrill of being on stage, surrounded by powerful sound and cheered on by people who loved him. Those in the crowd that recognized him – and there were many – expected a show, and he wasn't about to disappoint. This might be his last time on this stage. His feet braced, his hips swung and rocked lithely to the beat, and someone called for him to take off his shirt. It wouldn’t be the first time. One hand pushed up the bottom edge of his shirt, revealing abs sharply defined by the weight he’d lost, and he stuck out his tongue in a raunchy gesture.

The music settled into a powerful, rocking beat and Kyo’s entire body twisted in time with the rhythm as he began to sing, his voice pouring into the microphone with slowly-building force. “ _Never again will I be dishonored, and never again will I be reminded of living within the world of the jaded.”_

One hand stretched out to the side, microphone cord wound between his fingers, body arched back and head tilted to expose a long, bruised neck as he opened up. “ _They kill inspiration; it’s my obligation to never again allow this to happen. Where do I begin? The choices are endless – denying the sin: my art, my redemption. I carry the torch of my fathers before me.”_

 

 

* * *

The song described in this chapter and the next ([I'm Alive](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbWgehny1jE)) is property of the band Disturbed. I do not own any rights to it, and do not profit from use of its lyrics.


	9. Chapter 9

**February 10 th \- 8:00 pm**

The music swelled powerfully, rising through the air and carrying him with it. All of his pain, humiliation, anger, fear, grief; it was all washed away in the wake of the song, if only for these short moments. His hips twisted with the beat and though the sinuous movement should have aggravated so many aches, Kyo felt nothing but the heavy throb of the song’s climax as he sang.

“ _The thing I treasure most in live cannot be taken from me. There will never be a reason why I will surrender to your advice to change myself, I‘d rather die. Though they will not understand, I won‘t make the greatest sacrifice.”_ A blonde head tilted back, chest heaving as a powerful voice rang through the building, _“You can‘t predict where the outcome lies, you‘ll never take me alive. I’m alive. I’m aliiive! I’m alive! I’m alive. I’m alive! I’m aliiiiive!_ ”

The music ground to a halt after the sustained note and Kyo opened his eyes, hiding a soft grin at the cheers that rang out through the building. Unlike the man who’d been singing when the blonde came in earlier, Kyo was not shy about singing at full volume. The entire building had reverberated with his voice, and familiar faces had rushed to the stage to greet him during his performance. The catharsis of the stage was so deep and so complete; he took a moment to bask in it before his real life could catch back up to him.

He handed the microphone back to Kouji and started toward the stage stairs before a quick, clumsy movement caught his eye. Someone was rushing toward the front door, trying to look unhurried and failing miserably as he pushed past other patrons standing in front of the bar, earning a string of dirty looks. Flashing club lights illuminated a shock of green hair and a brutal facial scar, and Kyo felt his heart stop.

“Oh shit…” He ran off the stage, dodging past Akio and sprinting back toward the private room.

Hands tried to catch him, Akio’s and those of friends that had missed him, but he twisted and jerked away from them. If the man fleeing the club was who Kyo thought he was, there was no time to spare, no time to think. He stumbled up the stairs to the alcove and halted for a split second, panting. Kaoru was watching him curiously after seeing his mad dash. Die’s hand was halfway out of his jacket with a gun, startled and ready to protect Kaoru. Masanori and Yasunari were closing in on him, but a soft chime from behind him sent him flying forward.

Small hands gripped the heavy table and flipped it over with the strength only adrenaline could provide, the heavy wood coming over to trap Kaoru and Die against the far wall as the stairway behind him exploded in a rain of fire and wooden shrapnel. Kyo felt something heavy slam into his back and searing heat roll up his legs in a wave of agony even as he crashed into the bottom of the table.

His ears rang shrilly, and everything went black.

 

**February 14 th \- 6:00 am**

_Strong hands gripped thin hips as Kyo was pressed into the brick wall, legs hitched around the other boy’s waist. At seventeen years, Kyo’s small frame was easily light enough for Toshiya, a year his junior, to support. Toshimasa Hara was a good friend of Shinya’s, and his family had been serving the Terachi’s for many years now. There had been whispers that the messenger would be trained as Shinya’s bodyguard, and Kyo had been spending extra time with the younger boy to determine if he would be suitable._

_At least, that was what he told himself. He had been increasingly flustered by Toshiya’s relentless flirting, but not as offended as he normally would be. He had caught himself more than once admiring long legs and strong, slender arms. Tonight, when the taller boy grabbed him abruptly at the end of the walk home and crushed their mouths together, Kyo had opened up willingly and when a skilled tongue had pressed a small, bitter pill down his throat, he had swallowed it without hesitation. He had a pretty good idea of what it was, even if he hadn’t taken that particular drug before. Now, pressed against the front wall of Toshiya’s apartment building, the blonde was starting to feel everything around him with an almost terrifying clarity._

_He was carried into the building and onto the elevator, both boys oblivious to the scandalized stares they received even in this seedy part of town. Toshiya’s mouth was intoxicating, and the younger boy couldn’t seem to get enough of him, hands sliding up into a baggy shirt to slide over smooth skin. The elevator beeped and they stumbled into the hallway, hands leaving his shirt to search for and find the handle to a door that was never locked. They went crashing into Toshiya’s tiny apartment, the door slammed shut behind them, and Kyo was pressed back onto the bed._

_Toshiya backed off, panting, and grabbed Kyo’s shirt, dragging it up over his head to discard carelessly. The blonde’s eyes swirled, entranced by the brilliant red of the room. Toshiya swooped down, biting at the older boy’s smooth neck and collarbone as Kyo squirmed against the soft sheets, overwhelmed by the sensations washing through him from the drug he’d so carelessly swallowed. Dark gold eyes were glazed, round cheeks flushed, full lips panting deeply._

_“Toshiya… Totchi, I haven’t… I’ve never…” The blonde struggled to form a coherent sentence through the cotton-candy haze that had crept into his mind._

_An easy grin split Toshiya’s face as he tugged off Kyo’s loose jeans. “I know. Don’t worry, you’ll like this.”_

_Kyo’s eyes rolled back in acceptance as lips met his once more, and he hardly noticed slick fingers creeping up his inner thighs, or his legs bring pressed wider and wider apart._

Dark lashes fluttered. A round face glistening with sweat frowned, and a soft groan escaped dry lips. Burnt gold eyes cracked open blearily and rolled side to side, blinking. Kyo’s body felt so heavy, like his bones were made of lead, but his mind was floating languidly. He caught a familiar tune playing softly and caught sight of his music player, plugged into his speakers at the bedside. His glasses were resting on top of a book he was halfway through reading in front of the speakers, and his eyes tried to close with content. These were his things, right where he left them.

But something was wrong… wasn’t it? Did he always have such a big bed? Maybe it just felt big. Did he always have such a big window? …No, his apartment had a tiny window with thick, tightly drawn curtains. He forced heavy eyes open again to look. Past his music player was indeed a large window, letting in faint grey morning light. But his bookshelves still framed it, and his pictures were still hanging on the walls. He rolled his eyes to take in the other half of the room. Off to one side he saw his desk with his stacks of spiral-bound notebooks and his desktop computer. There were several prescription pill bottles on the other nightstand, next to a pitcher of water and a short glass. He frowned; those were not his.

“Yes, how is it going?”

A low voice, speaking softly, caught Kyo’s attention. It was coming from the bathroom, which was about three meters to the right of where he’d left it, where his kitchen should be. The sound was oddly muffled in his left ear, and the imbalance made his head swim a little.

“Any luck getting the access codes? …I see.”

A figure passed by the open doorway, and the blonde’s hazy mind caught only black slacks and damp black hair before stuttering over a shirtless, heavily tattooed arm holding a cell phone. Toshiya? No, he hadn’t slept with Toshiya in years, and after how the man had dumped him there was no way he would have so much as let him into his apartment. Plus, Toshiya didn’t have a graveyard tattooed on his arm. Toshiya didn’t have _anything_ tattooed _anywhere_.

“Still asleep. He should be up soon to take his pills.”

Pills? Strange memories circled just out of reach and he strained to catch them. Where was he last? He remembered the Lotus… karaoke… and running…

“…Okay. I’ll meet you downstairs in a bit.”

Kyo heard a soft beep and watched with bleary eyes as the figure came into view again, now wearing an unbuttoned white shirt. He frowned. “What’re you doing in my apartment?”

Wait, that wasn’t right… hadn’t he established that this wasn’t his apartment? Worry about that later; right now deal with why Kaoru Niikura was here in his home/not-home.

Chocolate eyes looked up, mildly startled. Hands that had been working on buttoning the shirt paused what they were doing as the older man walked over to the bed. “Oh. Did I wake you?”

“Answer my question!” The blonde was increasingly confused – why did Kaoru have a giant gash on his head, held shut with a thin white bandage? – and his inability to grasp the situation was making him defensive and snappy.

“This isn’t your apartment. We moved your things into this room a couple days ago, remember? You were here when we did it, and you were very particular about where you wanted everything.” Kaoru looked amused.

_Laying in bed, fretting as half a dozen men unpacked his meager – but deeply cherished – belongings and distributed them around the room. Were they being gentle enough? Were they putting everything where it belonged? All of his books and music had been meticulously organized! Were they going to steal something? Had they already stolen something?! He wanted desperately to do the work himself, not trusting these strangers with his things, but Kaoru’s hand on his shoulder was enough to keep his weakened frame in place. His mind was thick and hazy, his eyelids heavy, and it was a fight to stay awake._

Kyo frowned at the foreign memory. “I’m… drugged, aren’t I?”

The older man nodded, settling into a plush chair that had been set up next to the bed. “Pain killers. The explosion cracked a few ribs, burned the backs of your legs, and your left ear needed to be surgically drained to prevent further rupture.”

_Excruciating pain in his chest made it impossible to sit up on his own, even dulled by the powerful pain medication. Thin hands patiently helped prop him up enough to get his legs under himself so he could stagger into the bathroom, or eat a small meal. Waking up in the small hours of the morning with a straining bladder and having to turn to the man sleeping in the chair beside him for assistance was a crippling humiliation._

“You’ve been sleeping in here… Why?”

Kaoru’s head tilted, damp hair falling into his eyes and making him look more… human, somehow. “I owe you a great debt, Kyo. That bomb killed a couple dozen people, and would have killed Die and me if you hadn’t pushed that table on top of us. You saved my life, and that of my dearest friend. It’s not something I take lightly.”

_A screaming, thrashing, hysterical fit. Many of Kyo’s friends – innocent people that had nothing to do with the Terachi or Niikura families, including Clara, who had been a second mother to him – had been killed by the blast, and the blonde was not taking the news well. The blonde screamed vicious insults and blame at Kaoru, though he knew it was Shinya’s assassin who had set the bomb. His insides twisted with self-hatred for having saved the life of his captor, though he knew that the public death of the last Niikura would have resulted in a full-scale turf war between all of the families surrounding Kaoru’s massive territory._

_His action had saved thousands of lives, but his presence had caused the death of innocent people, many of whom he knew and cared for. A horrible voice in the back of his mind whispered that he should have died with them, and he screamed curses to drown it out. Kaoru and Die stood on either side of his bed, holding him down while a kind-faced elderly woman in a doctor’s coat slid a thin needle into his arm. The sedative was quick-acting, but did nothing to slow the fat, painful tears pouring out of dark gold eyes._

Kyo closed his eyes, frowning. He didn’t like the fragments of memories, half lost in the haze of drugs and dreams. “How long have I been here?”

“Today will be the fourth day. Doctor Bao reduced your codeine dosage last night, so you should be able to stay awake longer, and you’ll be significantly more lucid.” A wry smile. “Kind of a shame, really. You’re much more… social when you’re high.”

Now, more than ever, Kyo wished he could remember the past few days. His eyes were narrow and regarded Kaoru suspiciously. “What did I tell you?”

“Lots of things. What kind of music you like, your favorite anime and video games, things you remember about Kyoto, why you don’t drink alcohol.” Kyo blushed; that particular story was a bit embarrassing. “A couple times, late at night, you were very concerned about convincing me that Shinya used to be a kind person. You told me many stories about your childhood together, but not so much as a word about your work or his.”

_Staring into hooded, half-awake eyes, mouth running desperately even with a slightly slurred tongue. What had happened at the Bloody Lotus – killing so many people just to get to Kaoru – was the most callous thing Shinya had ever done, but not the first time his ruthlessness had chilled Kyo. Afraid of what his friend was becoming, he fought to convince Kaoru – and himself – that the boy he had grown up with was still somewhere inside the man he worked for. Maybe if he could make the older man understand that Shinya was a good person at heart, he wouldn’t retaliate with the full, horrifying force that the Niikura family commanded._

“Regardless, the attempt on my life has demonstrated a boldness that I can’t afford to ignore. It was one thing when he was simply pushing into my territory, but this new aggressive behavior needs to be addressed immediately. I’ve put it off for a couple days to take care of you, but now that you’re recovering I’m afraid I have to get back to work.” The older man checked his watch and sighed. “Let’s get you up. We’re due downstairs shortly.”

He shifted forward, one hand sliding under Kyo to support his upper back as the blonde moved to get himself into a sitting position.

_Kaoru was leaning over him, patiently helping sit him up through the agony in his ribs. The pain of loss and betrayal was fresh and his heart ached for a distraction. Spiteful impulse surged and bandaged hands grabbed at Kaoru’s shirt, dragging the startled man onto the bed._

Kyo’s eyes widened and he jerked away from Kaoru abruptly. “What…”

He caught a flash of dark purple under the older man’s open collar and grabbed the shirt roughly, pushing it aside to reveal a vicious-looking hickey. Kaoru gently pried the blonde’s hand off and stood to finish buttoning up.

_Bruised and burned legs swung over to straddle thin hips, bare flesh sliding over carefully tailored wool. Small hands gripped both sides of a pristine white shirt and ripped, sending pearly buttons flying, baring an exquisitely tattooed chest and a long, elegant neck. The older man’s perfection in the face of his own tattered condition infuriated him and he growled as he dove in, mouth clamping onto that long neck with the intention of marring that flawless skin._

“Oh… oh gods… We… you… I…”

Kaoru slid gracefully into a dark grey suit jacket, and watched Kyo’s face go from nearly white to an impressive shade of red. As amusing as it was, he felt a bit of sympathy for the younger man’s apparent embarrassment. The blonde had been sliding in and out of consciousness for days, and his short term memory had been spotty at best. He’d been wondering when – _if_ – Kyo would remember that particular event.

“Had sex? Yes. You were… rather insistent.” Kaoru fought to hide an amused smile as Kyo’s mouth gaped open, eyes unfocused. He could almost see the memories surfacing. “I was worried you were going to re-break a rib, the way you were moving.”

Kyo groaned and covered his face with both hands, mortified. As much as he wanted to blame Kaoru, he knew the fault was all his own. He remembered, all too clearly, hands that carefully supported him and kept him from over exerting himself in his fervor. Certainly the older man had done nothing to stop or even discourage Kyo’s ministrations, but in the end the blonde had been the aggressor and was ultimately responsible for everything that had followed. He recalled, horrified, that Kaoru had actually had to force him to stop long enough for the older man to stretch and lube him, and his own protestations of the interruption.

“I’m…” he faltered over an apology, not only because he knew he wasn’t really sorry, but because he knew Kaoru didn’t want, need, or even really deserve one. “ _Fuck_.”

"Indeed."

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

**February 14 th \- 7:30 am**

The elevator felt much smaller today, and the ride down to the lower floors seemed to take twice as long as usual. Kyo had dressed for comfort and in layers, feeling horribly exposed every time Kaoru looked at him. But even in baggy jeans and an oversized hooded sweatshirt, the blonde felt absolutely naked every time chocolate eyes flicked over to him, or a hand brushed lightly against his back to prompt him into movement. This was not the first time impulsive sex had caused him some awkwardness the next day, but this was on a whole new level. Die was conspicuously absent.

When the doors opened out into a too-familiar hallway with white tile flooring and heavy metal doors lining the hall, Kyo found he couldn’t make his legs move forward. Kaoru stepped forward calmly, clearly expecting to be followed. Kyo supposed he should have known he’d be taken back to interrogation now that he was conscious again, but part of him had hoped… He tried to pretend he was unaffected by the prospect, but shallow tremors were washing over his body and he was frozen in place, one hand gripping the rail in the elevator with white-knuckled force.

Realizing he was alone, Kaoru looked back, one hand holding the doors. “Come with me.”

Kyo opened his mouth to refuse, but nothing came out. He shook his head vehemently and stepped back, pressing against the elevator wall.

The elevator door chimed softly, impatiently, as Kaoru sighed and cocked his head to the side. “You’re not here for interrogation today.”

Dark gold eyes narrowed suspiciously, finding his voice. “Why the hell else would I be here?!”

“You are a bargaining chip.”

“…What the fuck does that mean?! What did you bargain me for, and to who?!”

Kaoru looked amused. _‘Such a volatile little thing.’_ “Information. To meet you was a desperate man’s wish. I suspect he thought we couldn’t procure you, but still he eventually gave us what we wanted when we told him we could. It took some extra… persuasion, but a promise was made in my name, and it will be seen to.”

“To _meet_ me?”

“Yes.”

“…I’m not… here to see Hideki?”

Kaoru’s eyes darkened. “No. He’s here, but you won’t be dealing with him again. Now come on, before we’re late.”

He held out a hand and Kyo stared at it, still pressed against the back wall. That hand was terribly familiar now, from the elegant tattoos dripping from the wrist down the back of deft fingers to the tips of carefully trimmed and tended nails. That hand had, with infinite care, soothed cuts, bruises, burns, and sprains. It caressed his hair fondly in parting, it pressed against his back in guidance, and in his vaguest memories, it brought him pleasure in the throes of passion. It was, as promised, the only kindness he had known in this place. His stomach twisted painfully, but he stepped away from the wall and allowed Kaoru’s hand to guide him once more.

The elevator doors hissed shut behind him. Kaoru’s expensive leather shoes clicked softly on the tile, his own sneakers barely made a sound. The heavy metal door of the interrogation room squeaked open and Kyo took a deep breath to steady himself before stepping inside.

The breath escaped him almost immediately. “Shit…”

Two heads snapped up to look at him. One was Hideki’s, and he found himself moving an instinctive half-step back toward the door. The other, though, gripped him by the heart and forced him to stay inside the horrible room.

Nobuo Aki was by no means an attractive man. Half of his face was a ghastly mess of twisted, melted skin with a sad nub for an ear, a weird sort of webbing over the side of his mouth, and a thick scar running through where shrapnel had taken out an eye. Hair no longer grew on that half of his head, but on the other half it was kept long and dyed dark green, strung through with a myriad of thin braids tipped with bone beads. Kyo knew of the damage to the man’s face, but hadn’t known before just how much it had damaged the rest of his body. Even now, shirtless under bright white lights it was hard to see where the scarring ended through the more recent damage from time spent with Hideki.

Kyo had always held a certain amount of respect for the Nobuo, though he knew him only through his personnel file. The man was in his mid-thirties, and had spent the last two decades in loyal service to the Terachi family, even after the botched job that mangled the left half of his body. To see the proud man now, beaten and bleeding on the cold tile floor, made his heart ache. He met the gaze of the greenhaired man’s one eye, bloodshot with pain and fear, and took an unsteady step forward.

“Nobuo…”

That one eye widened in recognition, and the reverent joy that washed over his face froze Kyo mid-step. “It’s you…the Prophet!”

Nobuo fought to pull himself to his feet, slipping more than once on the thick smear of blood he’d left of the floor, and began a torturous walk toward Kyo. One of his ankles bent at a horrible angle and he hobbled on it with obvious agony, and his skin was sickeningly pale from bloodloss. The blonde swore softly and rushed toward him, just barely managing to catch the heavier man as he fell to his knees. Hands, bloody and shaking, one heavily scarred and missing two fingers, fisted in the front of his shirt and clutched at him with a frightening desperation.

“I never thought they would bring you… never thought you were _real_ … even when I saw the card… you know my name!”

Kyo swallowed thickly, deeply shaken by the way Nobuo was looking at him, “Of course I do. You’ve been with the family even longer than I have.”

One black eye filled with tears, looking up at Kyo pleadingly. “I’m sorry, Prophet… I told them… I told them where the boss is… I told them everything! I’m sorry! I just wanted it to end… I just… I’m sorry I almost killed you…”

The blonde shuddered and raised one hand to tuck green hair gently behind an ear, scrambling for words. In the end, all he had was what he would want to hear in the same position. “It’s okay, Nobuo. You’ve always served so well, I… I know you did your best.”

Large hands gripped the thick black fabric of Kyo‘s sweatshirt, straining the seams. Every word from the half-formed mouth seemed painful. “Toshiya told me once… he said you come to our funerals. He said you pray for… everyone that dies under your watch… will you come to my funeral? Will you pray for me?”

Dark gold eyes went soft with understanding. Nobuo believed he was dying, and Kyo wasn’t entirely sure he was wrong. It was true that Kyo attended the funerals of all Terachi family employees, and he was always one of very few mourners, if not the only one. Every month, he prayed for all those that had fallen in his three years of service, hoping their spirits rested peacefully. “I will. You won’t be alone, I swear it.”

“The boss wanted… I was supposed to blow the whole building… I couldn’t do it, there were… there were so many people, some of _our_ people… _our_ people… I thought if I just took the alcove… I failed… Niikura survived… Prophet… please tell the boss… I’m sorr-...”

Kyo watched, horrified, as the man slumped to the ground with a sickening _thud_ , completely still. He didn’t know if he was unconscious or dead but with the sheer amount of blood in the room, there was really only one possible outcome in the end. Either way, the whole situation proved to be just this side of too much and he lurched out of the room quickly, gracelessly, to brace himself against the wall in the hallway, nearly ramming into Kaoru on the way.

“Are you alright?” the older man murmured, one hand resting lightly on the blonde’s back.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Kyo whispered.

“This way.” Kaoru guided the blonde into a nearby bathroom, turning his back politely when the blonde fell to his knees in the nearest stall and promptly began to vomit.

“Boss?”

Kaoru waved Die into the room and leaned against the counter casually. “I had no idea they saw you as some kind of… religious icon.”

“They don’t!” Kyo snapped, his horrified voice echoing oddly off the porcelain, followed by a confused mumble, “At least, I didn’t think they did…”

“Most of the people we’ve spoken to from the Terachi family do. Well, not really a _religious_ icon, but a lot of them seem to think you’re not real,” Die said. “We thought the same until we caught a couple of Terachi spies a year or so back, and they told us _they_ act under your specific direction. You know we had to hunt down one of Kunio’s former housecleaners to get half of a description of you?”

“Is he… is Nobuo…”

Die looked to Kaoru for approval before answering, “He’s gone. They’re cleaning the room now.”

There was a long silence before the toilet flushed and Kyo shuffled out of the bathroom stall quietly, bending over the sink to rinse his face and mouth. Die looked away politely when Kaoru reached out a hand to tuck down a flyaway piece of blond hair.

“Come,” the older man beckoned. “We need to talk.”

Die held the door for Kaoru, and had to look at Kyo expectantly for a moment before the blonde realized the gesture was for him as well. He walked out quickly, but the taller man nearly ran over him when he stopped short as he saw Hideki exiting the interrogation room. Before the door could swing shut, he could see two men in sanitary suits hosing the walls and floor down, blood running thickly into a drain in the floor. Hideki’s eyes caught his and his stomach twisted nervously at the seething hatred he saw there. Die’s hands came to rest on his shoulders, and he pressed back into them instinctively.

Kaoru, barely two meters down the hall, looked back over one shoulder to check on his followers. “Ah, Hideki! Come here, I’d like to speak with you before you go back to your cell. Privately, if you please.”

The platinum blonde stiffened and glanced at Die for a moment before joining his boss in the second interrogation room. Kyo watched the metal door shut with a soft, deliberate click and slowly released the breath he’d been holding.

“His… cell?”

“Yes.” Die’s voice was startlingly close to his ear and Kyo realized the taller man’s hands were still on his shoulders. He stepped away quickly. Harsh white light glinted off the redhead’s black glasses. “Kaoru is pretty pissed at him. He’s living in a solitary cell whenever he’s not working and he’s being chemically castrated until we decide to restore his rank.”

Kyo’s eyes widened with each word. “He… would do that to one of his own?”

Die nodded. “Well, he fucked up pretty bad. Don’t get me wrong, sex is a perfectly viable interrogation method. I’ve used it myself in the past with plenty of success. But not the way he… well, what _he_ did wasn’t in keeping with the Niikura family standards, and Kaoru’s not one to let that sort of thing slide.”

Kyo ran a hand over his mouth, stomach still turning. A fine sheen of sweat had gathered on his forehead, and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could stay standing; days spent drugged and unconscious followed by the trauma of the interrogation room had sapped his energy reserves. When the metal door swung open once more and Hideki came out, the man was paler than he had been before and moved stiffly to stand in front of Kyo. The blonde tensed, eyes wide, as the interrogator dropped to one knee and bowed his head, one hand flat pressed to his chest.

“Alright, Mr. Nishimura, come on in,” Kaoru called.

Kyo didn’t move until Die put an arm around his shoulders and guided him around Hideki’s still figure. “What… what the hell was that?”

“I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“No, what was that?” Kyo looked to Kaoru as Die shut the metal door behind them. “What just happened?”

“We just had a conversation about etiquette. Please, have a seat.” Kaoru gestured to the plain steel chair resting next to the table. There was only one in the room, and there was a thin file folder in the center of the table.

Kyo was unsettled by a lot of what had happened today, and being sealed in this room with Kaoru Niikura and his Head of Security was nerve-wracking, but his knees were beginning to tremble with exhaustion. He settled into the seat carefully. “I thought I wasn’t here for interrogation today.”

“You’re not. Not really.” Kaoru reached out a hand to slide the folder over to Kyo. “But, if only for the debt I owe to you, I felt you should know what’s going on.”

Kyo opened the folder carefully and felt a chill. On top of the papers inside, there was a large, glossy photo of Shinya passing through the underground entry doors that lead into the headquarters building, Toshiya holding the door open over his head. Under that, a stack of architectural drawings of the buildings, from top and side views. The top three floors were circled on the side view, and Shinya’s office was marked on the top view of the top floor. Under those, detailed duty rosters for the building’s security, both civilian and Terachi.

“We suspected for a long time that the Terachi base of operations was somewhere in this area, just because we’ve seen Shinya Terachi in the area so many times, but the entrance he uses is nearly a block away from the Nakazato Sun Insurance building. And since Nakazato Sun is a legitimate business that legitimately operates out of the same building, we disregarded it every time we tried to find the Terachi base.” Kaoru tapped the photo of Shinya lightly. “Unfortunately, according to Mr. Aki, it’s impossible to get to the top floors without access to a secondary elevator system, which requires a series of codes he did not have.”

Kyo picked up the photo with shaking hands, his face gone sheet-white.

“Without those codes, we have no way to quietly remove Terachi from the building. We haven’t been able to find where he lives, and he’s been particularly cautious with where he goes, and with whom, since the attack at the Bloody Lotus. Under those circumstances, we’ve little choice but to return the favor he granted me.”

Kyo looked up at Kaoru, horrified. “You mean…?”

“Tonight, _my_ demolitions specialists will be placing charges along the roof of the Nakazato Sun building. The charges will be set to explode downward, enough to take out at least the top two floors, maybe the top three. They will be detonated tomorrow morning at 9 AM, when Mr. Aki assures me Terachi will be meeting with several of his closest associates.”

Kyo had to grip the table to keep from fainting, his chest twisting painfully with fear. ‘ _He’s going to kill Shinya, he’s going to kill Shinya, he’s going to kill him, he’s going to kill Shinya!’_ “You… you can’t…”

“I assure you that I can. And given his attempt on my life, I have no time to explore other options.”

Kyo looked back to the picture. To Shinya’s face, always so calm. To Toshiya’s protective gaze. His brothers, his _family_ , the only family he’d had for the last nearly seventeen years. “And if… if you had the access codes?”

“He would be quietly removed from the building. Alive, if possible. I only have so many favors I can call in to cover up all these bombings.”

Kyo’s mind went into a flurry of panicked, half-formed thoughts. He knew the access codes; _he_ had set them and reset them every month for the past three years. He had set the new one the day before he’d been captured, and no one else knew how to change the damn thing. But to give Kaoru the access codes would be giving him Shinya, and everyone with high enough clearance to work in the headquarters. Granted, the Terachi headquarters handled maybe an eighth of the day-to-day business that seemed to be dealt with in the Niikura building, but it was still a significant blow. Really it all boiled down to choosing between Shinya alive and captured, or Shinya dead.

Kyo began to hyperventilate.

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

**February 14 th \- 10:00 pm**

Kyo stared blankly at the book in his hands, open to the same page he’d been trying to read for the past half an hour. He was anxious and beginning to feel a little claustrophobic; even with his belongings and his music filling it, the room still felt like a prison. There was a guard outside at all times - Akio, tonight. Apparently the man had been the one to catch Nobuo when he noticed the same suspicious activity that had caught Kyo’s attention, and the chase outside was the only thing that saved his life. He was the only one; Masanori was blown clear across the building, and Yasunari tackling him to the ground was what had saved Kyo, at the cost of the guard’s own life. Kaoru had left him here after the morning in the interrogation rooms, and he hadn’t left since. His afternoon guard had cautiously informed him that he was not allowed to leave the floor without permission and an escort.

Over the course of the day, he had struggled to keep himself busy. Lavish meals had been delivered by a silent, smiling woman in a stewardess’ uniform, and he had picked them apart a few bites at a time. He tried to sleep countless times, but every time he closed his eyes all he could see was Nobuo’s bloody face, dead eyes staring up at him with fanatic adoration. If he tried to ignore it and actually begin to drift off, the greenhaired man would suddenly turn into Shinya, arms bound behind his back, beaten and broken on the red-streaked floor of Hideki’s interrogation room. He spent an hour or two leaning out the window chain smoking, reestablishing his nicotine habits. He scratched out half a notebook of new poems, he reorganized his belongings, he tried to read a book. Anything he could think of to distract himself, to forget.

Forget that he had betrayed Shinya. Forget that he had given Kaoru all of the access codes and directions necessary to infiltrate the Terachi headquarters. Forget that he had given his family’s most powerful enemy everything he needed to completely undermine the security system that he himself had put into place. Forget that he had broken the vow he took so many years ago to protect Shinya and the Terachi family until his final breath.

But didn’t he do it to protect Shinya? Kaoru was planning to kill him, and he had more than enough resources to carry out that plan. Having given up that information might save Shinya’s life when Niikura forces were set to move into the Terachi base. Hadn’t he done everything he could to protect Shinya? Even after the man put a price on his head? Did saving his life count if it meant that life would be spent at Niikura’s mercy?

“Fuck!” He threw the book against the wall in frustration and dragged himself out of bed. He’d taken more painkillers with dinner, but the effort still made his ribs ache, and when he swallowed there was a faint, stabbing pain in his ear. The decision to seek out his captor was one that made his stomach quiver horribly, but he committed to it and pushed himself into motion before he could chicken out.

He stormed across the room and flung his door open. Akio glanced up from the magazine he was reading, taking in Kyo’s house socks, sweatpants, and complete lack of a shirt. “You don’t have permission to go downstairs.”

“I’m not going downstairs,” he grumbled, stalking off down the hall.

Akio was between him and the elevator, and the man seemed content to hold that position and return to his magazine. Kyo padded down the corridor to the large double doors leading into Kaoru’s office and tested them half-heartedly; locked, as he expected. He continued down a side hall and found a heavy wooden door tucked at the end of it. This one was unlocked and he passed through, silent but for the faint crush of carpet under his feet. The room on the other side was spacious and dark, but he could make out a large entertainment system surrounded by plush couches, a well-stocked bar, a pool table, and what appeared to be a sizeable fish tank. There were two other doors in the room, one to his left that was slightly ajar and lead to a dark room, one directly ahead with a thin line of light spilling out from underneath it. As his eyes adjusted, Kyo noticed a collection of framed photographs on the wall between the bar and the television and went to get a closer look.

 _‘This must be the master suite…’_ he thought, head tilted back to look over each photo.

There were several pictures of a pair of boys, ranging in age from toddlers – one with a chubby face and a nervous smile, the other with a tiny button nose and wide black eyes – all the way up to men in their early twenties. Kyo saw the progression of each boy and realized he was looking at Kaoru and Die. He also recognized Tomohiro Niikura – Kaoru’s uncle, and the previous head of the Niikura family – standing with Shigeru Andou and a man that bore a striking resemblance to both Tomohiro and Kaoru, likely the latter’s father.

A strong arm wrapped suddenly around Kyo to clamp both of his arms against his sides and he froze as something cold and hard pressed lightly against the side of his head. His back was pressed against a thin, bare chest, his head bumping back against sharp collarbones. He heard the sharp click of a gun being cocked over his right ear.

Kyo swallowed and spoke quietly, carefully, “I didn’t know you played baseball.”

“What are you doing here, Mr. Nishimura?” Die’s voice was low.

“Couldn’t sleep. …You’ve… known him your whole life, haven’t you?” Kyo looked up at the picture of Kaoru and Die as babies.

There was a pause, then the gun left his head and he was released. The blonde turned around as Die took a step back – hair mussed from sleep and wearing nothing but boxers – and looked up at the photos as well. The door on the left of the room was now open; he assumed those were Die’s quarters. He should have known his presence would wake the man who’d spent his life training to be a mafia lord’s bodyguard.

“Kaoru? Yeah, I have. He’s almost a year older than I am, so he’s always been there. Our parents and his uncle were… close, I’m sure you can imagine.”

“Do you think he’s a good person?”

A lopsided grin was his first answer. “Well that’s a hell of a question, isn’t it? He’s my best friend, but he’s also the leader of one of Japan’s largest mafia families. Can anyone in this business really be a good person, especially one in his position? I guess personally, yes, I think he’s a good person. Professionally… he can be as ruthless as anyone if he needs to.”

“You’ve always known what you were going to do, haven’t you? What your life was going to be?”

Die nodded, soft brown eyes leaving the photos on the wall to regard Kyo curiously. “Of course.”

“If… if you were in my place… what would you have done? If you had to choose between Kaoru dying or being taken alive by an enemy… what would you have done?”

The redhead sighed and ran one hand through his hair. “Well, in theory I would have to be dead for either of those things to happen.”

“But if you weren’t.”

“Well… I suppose I would try to keep him alive. That’s my job, after all, and if he’s alive at least there’s a chance that I could rescue him somehow. A corpse does the family little good.”

Kyo nodded thoughtfully, head bowed.

“Can I trust you not to try to strangle His Majesty, or do I have to stay awake with you?” Die asked, covering a yawn with the hand not holding a pistol.

“A one-man peasant rebellion inside the emperor’s own castle? What good would it do?”

The redhead chuckled, “Not much, I guess.”

Kyo watched the man move, ghost-quiet, back into his dark bedroom. Die held a gun like it was just an extension of his arm. Unlike himself and Kaoru, who had full sleeves on both arms and then some, the only ink Kyo could find coloring the man’s skin was a patch of what looked like scales on his right hand. The rest of his thin, toned body was decorated only with scars of all shapes and sizes, documenting a hard-lived life that contrasted sharply with the easy grin in all the photos on the wall.

The blonde eventually moved away from the wall of pictures and went to the closed door on the far side of the room, one hand reaching out to test the knob softly. It was unlocked. He hesitated for a long moment, unsure, before finally steeling himself and pushing into the room quietly, shutting the door behind himself. Blinking against the light, soft though it was, he took in a room clean but cluttered with guitars, a television from under which spilled half a dozen gaming systems, and books, movies, and CDs stacked sloppily on countless shelves and cases. The owner of the room was currently reclining in his bed wearing only thin pajama pants, flipping through what appeared to be a Gundam manga. Music thumped quietly in the background, heavy with bass and low, powerful drums.

Being in Kaoru’s bedroom was bizarre. Part of Kyo had expected, maybe even wanted the room to be bare and purely functional, not this… _explosion_ of humanity that forced him to accept that Kaoru Niikura was a real person with real interests and hobbies beyond his work. The blonde found himself frozen in place, fighting the vague feeling that somehow being in here was straining a very powerful barrier between himself and the older man.

“You should wear those more often.”

Kyo startled a little. “W-what?”

Kaoru was watching him, and tapped his temple with one finger. “Your glasses. They suit you nicely. What can I do for you, Kyo?”

Kyo blinked and raised a hand to his face, fingers bumping against the wire frames. He’d forgotten to take them off after giving up on his book. He shook his head and moved to stand at the foot of Kaoru’s bed. “You only call me by my first name when we’re alone.”

Kaoru set his book aside, moving to sit up a little more. “I suppose I do.”

It was all the conversation Kyo cared to make; he hadn’t come to talk. Two hands and a knee sank into soft covers as the younger man crawled onto the bed, all battered grace and tempered conviction as he moved slowly to straddle Kaoru’s legs, clever hands sliding up to deftly remove the older man’s pants. Thin hips rose to assist with the task, and dark gold eyes peered over the edge of wire glasses to meet Kaoru’s gaze. Eyes gone velvet black watched, entranced, as full lips parted and a soft tongue came out to run along the length of his rapidly stiffening arousal, from base to tip, before taking it into his mouth entirely.

Thin fingers, bare of their customary jewelry, wound through soft blonde hair as a powerful suction and skilled tongue were brought to bear on Kaoru’s erection, lean legs parting gracefully to make more room for the smaller man between them. The blonde growled deep in his throat, pulling an answering moan from the older man as the vibration sent sparks of pleasure through him, and began a torturously slow bobbing motion. Every upstroke was marked with that velvety soft tongue swirling maddeningly around the head and flicking over the tip of Kaoru’s member before moving back down to swallow him whole.

Dark chocolate eyes opened – their owner unaware they’d closed at some point – when that decadent mouth left with a soft pop. Kaoru watched, flushed with arousal as Kyo slid back down the bed just long enough to slip out of his clothes before climbing back up to straddle his captor’s hips, warm hands resting against the older man’s chest. The tiger tattooed over Kyo’s right hip seemed to come alive as the blonde began rocking against him, their erections sliding against one another with intoxicating friction. The lithe movements of the blonde’s waist were hypnotic, every undulation of lean muscle riding along the bass beat of the music.

Kaoru lifted one hand to brush his fingers over Kyo’s lips, and the blonde responded by taking one into his mouth. The older man moaned as a soft tongue twined around and between each of his fingers one by one before sharp teeth began to nip at them impatiently. When two of those slick fingers moved around and began to press into him, Kyo arched his back and pressed back against them, panting. Kaoru was tempted to take his time preparing the younger man – to torment him as he’d been tormented moments before – but found himself too stimulated to slow his motions.

Kyo was equally disinclined to wait, barely giving the older man more than a couple of minutes to stretch him before reaching back to pull the invading hand away impatiently. Both men choked out deep, gasping moans as Kyo impaled himself on Kaoru, taking him almost all the way in with one decisive push. The blonde’s head fell back in ecstasy as pleasure, pressure, and pain washed over him all at once, in pulsating waves that reached from the tips of his toes to his flushed face.

“That had… to hurt,” Kaoru gasped. The younger man was impossibly tight around him, and it took every last bit of restraint he had to keep from pushing higher up into that scorching heat.

A throaty, indulgent chuckle escaped a panting mouth. “Nnnh… it hurt beautifully, yes…”

The blonde head rolled forward again, dark gold eyes meeting chocolate with a look of such erotic self-indulgence that Kaoru gave up trying to control himself. One hand shot forward, grabbing the skull pendant that bounced against Kyo’s collarbone and dragging the younger man down roughly. Their mouths crashed together and Kyo startled as his world suddenly swung around wildly. He was suddenly on his back, legs hitched up over Kaoru’s thin hips with the man’s heat burning inside him.

Kyo opened his mouth, tongue sliding out to meet Kaoru’s as the older man pushed further into him, burying himself to the hilt. Kaoru swallowed the whimpering, growling moans coming out of that soft mouth, meeting the blonde’s rocking hips with deep, powerful thrusts. Long-fingered hands and bandaged arms stretched up to brace against a sturdy wooden headboard, lean legs clamping around Kaoru’s waist to force him closer, deeper with every push.

Their mouths broke apart when Kyo arched his back and threw back his head to moan noisily. Watching the younger man’s throat flex and undulate with every gasp, growl, and moan reminded Kaoru of watching him sing and he did what he’d wanted so badly to do that night. He ran his tongue up the length of that long, pale column from the curve of an elegant collar bone to behind the soft shell of an ear, feeling blood pulse rapidly and a low voice vibrate through the flesh. A thin hand slipped between them to grip the blonde’s arousal, pressing so insistently against Kaoru’s stomach, and that last delicious bit of friction proved to be Kyo’s breaking point. He convulsed with a _roar_ , his insides clamping around Kaoru’s erection and bringing the older man over the edge with him.

Eyelashes fluttered open, dark gold hazy with satiation. “Kaoru…”

 

 


	12. Chapter 12

**February 15 th \- 12:00 am**

Kyo stood on the small balcony outside Kaoru’s living quarters, smoking and wishing he’d put on more than just his sweatpants before coming outside. He thought he saw a few flakes of snow fall in the chill February wind. Running an absent hand over his stomach, he could swear he still felt the sticky, heavy evidence of what he’d just done, though he knew he was clean. He’d just spent nearly an hour under a spray of hot water, slick with thick soap foam that smelled faintly of citrus. Admittedly, most of that time had been spent with his back pressed against a tile wall and his legs wrapped around Kaoru’s waist, engaged in thoroughly unclean activities, but he still scrubbed himself almost raw afterwards. His second orgasm had been almost painful, so powerful and so soon after the first. Even now he had to brace his wobbly knees just to stay standing. He yawned and leaned down to cross his arms on the railing and rest his cheek on them.

Something soft and heavy slid over his shoulders, and an all-too familiar figure leaned against the railing next to him, thin lips hiding a faint smirk behind a cigarette. “I seem to remember a week ago you tried to punch me in the face for asking you to undress.”

“I suppose I did.”

“Funny how things turn out sometimes. You were so determined not to be used by me… and now, I’m the one being used, in the exact way you were worried about.”

Dark gold eyes rose, surprised.

Kaoru’s head rolled back lazily as he blew smoke into the air. “You’re not here because you wanted sex with me. You’re here because you need a distraction.”

Kyo hid a yawn in the too-long sleeve of the bathrobe he‘d been covered with. It smelled like Kaoru. “Does my motivation matter? Or does being my chosen method of catharsis hurt your ego?”

A thin hand came out to play with feathery blond hair. “My ego can take it, I assure you. And I can’t say I’m surprised someone in your position would seek to regain some control of your life. It’s just odd that you would come to my bed for it.”

“Control?” A soft chuckle. “I’ve never had control.” The blonde stood, flicking ash irreverently off the balcony. “As for what I do have… I am sober, now. I am rested, fed, no longer suffering withdrawals, and in only enough pain to make me angry. I have the clarity of mind to see your game for what it’s been.”

It was Kaoru’s turn to be surprised, though he hid it well. “Oh?”

“I imagine that among your staff exist men and women whose express purpose is to gain the trust of those for whom Hideki’s interrogation methods don’t work. I spent years being trained to withstand torture, and I’m not unique in that. I’m sure your Daisuke was trained the same way. So you have secondary interrogators who go to the prisoner’s cell and act as sympathetic ears. They tend to wounds, provide food and kindness, bemoan the prisoner‘s cruel fate, until the miserable bastard trusts them enough to give away their secrets. I can’t imagine why you chose to do the work yourself in my case – maybe you’re just a spoiled brat, and you wanted me because I’m Shinya’s – but I’m not so innocent as to miss your motives.”

“I... forget sometimes, the mind it takes to do what you’ve done for the Terachi family.” Kaoru sighed, rubbing blond hair between the pads of his fingers. “You’re right. That was all true, once.”

“Then my family tried to blow you up. And I saved you. But don’t misunderstand me, Kaoru Niikura. I only did it because to allow your organization to collapse that abruptly would throw half the country into an all-out turf war and wide-spread economic ruin. I am a loyal dog. I’ve eaten from your hand, but when Shinya calls, I will always return to him.”

“Even if he intends to put you down?”

“I’ve… had a lot of time in the past couple weeks to consider my own death. I’ve come to the conclusion that I would submit to a blade in his hand, but no one else’s. I'll die for _Shinya_ , not the Terachi family.”

Kyo’s eyes were closed, the burnt-down cigarette hanging loose between his fingers. Kaoru’s fingers on the back of his head were terribly soothing and his fight to stay standing was threatening to be a losing one.

“You’re such a stubborn little thing. Why don’t you come to bed?”

One eye peeked open, irritated. “What am I, your fucking girlfriend?”

“Oh no, not at all. You lack the assets I value in a female partner.”

“But I meet your illustrious standards for a male partner?”

“Mm, I usually go for tall redheads.”

Both gold eyes snapped open, startled, and caught Kaoru’s playful wink. The blonde bared his teeth in a faint snarl and flicked his cigarette butt disdainfully at the older man’s feet. He went back inside with every intention of going back to his own room to sleep, but he only made it so far as the den area before exhaustion overwhelmed him. After a moment of hesitation, he curled up on one of the couches.

He was asleep when careful hands slid thin, wire glasses off his nose and draped a light blanket over him. And, thankfully, he slept without dreams.

 

**February 15 th \- 9:00 am**

Kaoru and Die were gone long before Kyo woke up, and he was grateful for it. Though he had made the decision to sleep with Kaoru with a clear and lucid mind this time, and had no real regrets for having done it, the thought of a morning-after encounter with the man and his bodyguard was a deeply uncomfortable one. A tray of small bowls was placed on the table nearest him and he uncovered them to find steamed rice, pickled vegetables, and grilled fish. He found tea sealed in a carafe to keep it hot, but it had obviously been left a while ago.

His ribs ached fiercely, his ass was sore, and his legs were still weak and wobbly with exhaustion, but he forced himself eat quickly and take the long walk back to his room. The trip felt much more shameful in daylight, but luckily he passed only the guard stationed at his room door, who afforded him little more than a brief glance. Every minute that passed as he showered made his stomach tighten a little more. Right nowKaoru’s people were supposed to be moving in on the Terachi family headquarters. Maybe they were using what Kyo had told them to try to take the place with less loss of life, but maybe they’d decided it wasn’t worth the extra effort and were going to just blow the top off the building.

When he came to his wardrobe to get dressed, he hesitated. The suits he wore for work hung next to his street clothes and he found himself torn. He wanted to wear a suit, to wrap himself in what had been his identity for so long now. But he knew he couldn’t be that person anymore; the Prophet of the Terachi family was no more, even if the family somehow survived the Niikura’s assault. He wound up in black jeans and a sleeveless shirt under a lightweight jacket. He had to pull his belt a notch tighter than usual to keep his pants from sliding off his hips.

The guard outside his room rose to his feet when the door flew back open and a slight blonde figure in black stormed past him. “You don’t have-”

“Permission, I know. Not going downstairs.” Kyo waved a dismissive hand and continued down the hall to the double doors of Kaoru’s office. They were unlocked today and he pushed through without hesitation, shutting them behind himself before his guard could start to follow.

Die, pacing the office restlessly with his head bent over his phone, made an abortive movement towards his gun before he recognized Kyo. Kaoru was seated at his desk, flipping through a stack of folders calmly. He spoke without looking up from his work. “You should be nicer to Kenji. He’s already rather unsettled after you bit Mr. Yuji’s ear off.”

That explained why the man seemed familiar. Kyo took a deep breath and forced himself to ask, “It’s happening right now, isn’t it? You’ve moved against Shinya?”

“…Yes. We just issued the final go-ahead. If the information you gave us proves accurate, we expect to have established control by eleven o’clock.”

The blonde looked again at Die and saw the headpiece he wore on one ear, plugged into his phone which was displaying a low-quality video feed. “He’s connected to the group leader?”

“Mm. I usually prefer a little more surveillance on an operation like this, but on such short notice this was the most we could manage.” Kaoru gestured to the couch. “There’s nothing more to be done now but wait. You’re welcome to stay here if you don’t want to go to your room.”

Kyo eyed the couch, wiping his hands anxiously on his jeans.

“There’s an ashtray on the table to the right. Please use it.”

“They’re not… going to hurt him, right?” The younger man couldn’t keep his voice from wavering, just a little, and he hated himself for it.

Kaoru’s sharp eyes finally rose from his work. He set down the file he was holding and stood, walking around the desk to stand in front of Kyo. Thin hands rose to cup the blonde’s round face and guide it to look up at the older man. “I entrusted the lives of dozens of my men to the information that you gave me. Now you need to trust me.”

“The last time you told me to trust you, I got blown up.”

“But you’re alive, aren’t you?”

Kyo could hardly breathe with Kaoru looming over him so close, he felt so absolutely surrounded. “…They’re not going to hurt him?”

“They’ll answer to me if they do.”

“If you two start rutting in here, I swear I’ll shoot you both. You already kept me up all damn night.”

Die’s voice was startling and Kyo jerked away from Kaoru quickly, a faint blush spreading over his ears. The older man sighed and guided Kyo to the couch, shooting Die a scathing look while the blonde wasn’t looking. One of Die’s large hands left the grip it had on his phone to flip off his boss. Kyo settled into the corner of the couch, hands clumsy with worry and embarrassment pulling out a pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket.

For over an hour, the office was silent but for Kaoru’s shuffling papers and Die’s occasional murmuring into his headset directing the movements of his men. Though Kaoru seemed perfectly calm, Die and Kyo were both restless – the redhead pacing the room, the blonde chain smoking and flipping absently through some obscure old book he’d picked up off the shelves. Every time Die spoke, though he kept his voice low and unobtrusive, Kyo’s head snapped up to listen intently, and even Kaoru’s steady hands would pause.

Finally, Die let out a long breath and pulled his headset off, throwing it carelessly onto Kaoru’s desk before flopping onto the couch, large hands rubbing over his face, “All clear. We lost Tomino, everyone else is intact and inbound.”

“Terachi’s people?” Kaoru asked.

“Lost two, both security. They came in too close and too fast for the darts to stop them in time. All the rest have been loaded onto the vans.”

“Alright.” Kaoru collected his papers into a stack and set them aside. “Let’s go downstairs to await our guests, shall we?”

 

**February 15 th \- 9:00 pm**

Shinya sat patiently at the metal table, facing the mirror that was undoubtedly a window from the other side. He had awoken several hours ago in a stone cell on a plastic cot with a splitting headache, and the long wait for his captor to show himself did little to improve his mood. Although he’d had plenty to think about in that time. Toshiya had been in the cell next to him, but from the cell just past his bodyguard had come a deep voice that was more than willing to tell Shinya all about the goings-on in the Niikura headquarters over the past two weeks.

He’d had an idea of what had happened to his advisor and childhood friend when a Niikura messenger had approached him with a request for parley. But to hear a detailed synopsis, in that sickeningly self-indulgent voice, was a maddening experience. Years of very strict training were all that kept him for the most part outwardly calm. Those that knew him would find the fists clenched furiously at his sides to be a shocking deviation of character.

Large brown eyes moved to watch as a heavy lock clicked and the metal door swung open. Shinya caught a glimpse of a man Toshiya’s height with bloody red hair, and a man his own height who he recognized as Kaoru Niikura. But his attention was focused on the shorter man that the Niikura prodded into the room with a gentle hand. His oldest friend watched Kaoru leave the room, the door shutting decisively behind him, before facing forward.

Shinya watched as dark gold eyes flicked nervously from the floor, to the table, to the mirror, to Shinya, and back to the floor. Kyo was thinner than when they last spoke, and he could see the partially-healed evidence of deep bruises around his neck and on his face. But Shinya had seen the blonde bruised and bloodied countless times growing up. His friend’s refusal to look at him, and the slight defensive hunch of his shoulders spoke of damage that lied much deeper.

“Oh, Warumono. What have you gotten yourself into this time?” he asked with a sigh. “You look like hell.”

Kyo’s head rose cautiously at the use of the nickname. It was one that his younger friend had given him many years ago when they were both small, and that the man never used at work. Shinya stood and opened long arms with a tired smile and the blonde lurched forward, crashing into him with little regard for his own injuries. The embrace was not a tender one, but rather that of brothers long-separated by strife, fierce with crushing pressure as if to release the other would mean never seeing him again.

“I wouldn’t think someone like him would be your type,” Shinya murmured into soft blonde hair.

Kyo stepped back, wiping his eyes (he hoped) discretely. “W-what do you mean?”

“Kaoru Niikura. If the look he gave you just now is any indication, he’s quite infatuated with you. And I think I’ve known you long enough by now to recognize the look you gave him. Stockholm Syndrome is hardly the foundation of a healthy relationship, Kyo.”

The blonde considered lying, briefly, but he knew his friend would see right through it, as always. He had known Kyo _more_ than long enough. Kyo looked away, frowning petulantly. “Since when do I have healthy relationships?”

Masaru, Kyo’s first boyfriend in high school, had been sweet but entirely too innocent for the life he planned to lead with the Terachi family. Toshiya had been high for the vast majority of the time they were together, and when Shinya demanded sobriety from his newly-appointed bodyguard he lost interest in Kyo. Yusuke had been abusive to the point that Shinya had to intervene, Hajime turned into an obsessive stalker, Ken started cheating on him almost immediately and Hajime nearly killed the man for it…

“Mmm, fair enough. Still, I think this one might be a step too far, even for you.” Long, slender fingers ran lightly over Kyo’s cheek. “What is he like?”

“Huh?”

“Niikura. You’ve spent quite a bit of time with him, haven’t you?" Shinya’s eyes were too knowing.

Kyo blushed faintly. “Well… yeah, a bit I suppose.”

“Then tell me about him. I have always valued your judgment and it would be nice to be at least a little prepared for our meeting.”

Kyo‘s heart fluttered a little at the praise. Shinya still trusted him, at least in this? “…He has terrible eyes. If you look into them, it’s like they flay you open inside, strip away all your defenses until nothing is left. I haven’t known him to be cruel but… he is decisive, and he gets what he wants. Always. And he’s a manipulative son of a bitch, he doesn’t just rely on brute force.”

“I see. That’s very good to know. Do you plan to stay here? With him?”

“I… don’t know,” Kyo admitted. “I don’t think I can go home, now.”

“No, I imagine not. I’m sorry, my Prophet, I had little choice in the matter. Although I suppose at this point even if there weren’t a price on your head, there’s likely not going to be a home for you to return to.”

The blonde bowed his head guiltily, though there was no reproach in his friend’s voice. “I know.”

Shinya’s head tilted and he smiled. “At least I still got to wish you a happy birthday, hmm?”

Kyo blinked, briefly stunned, then laughed and slumped into the metal chair, running his fingers through his hair. “Hell… I completely forgot about it...”

“So.” Shinya leaned back against the table casually. “When do I get to meet the infamous Kaoru Niikura?”

“Soon, I think. He said I could come see you while he spoke with Toshiya. He’s… already seen your advisors.”

“Hmph. Stodgy old bastards. They were the ones that insisted on the hit, of course. Their arguments were sound enough, but I’m sure they took far more pleasure in the whole thing than was appropriate. I had hoped to be rid of them after Father passed, but they are terrifically stubborn. Ah, speak of the devil.” Shinya straightened as the door clicked open, smoothing his suit jacket out of habit.

Kaoru stepped into the room, Die a silent shadow at his back. “So sorry to have kept you waiting, Mr. Terachi.”

Two men moved past Kaoru silently to deposit three more chairs in the room, one next to Kyo and the other two on the opposite side of the table. Shinya hid a smile behind one hand, eyes narrowed ever so slightly. _‘As usual, it seems my Prophet has spoken the truth. He does have terrible eyes.’_ “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Niikura.”

“Please, have a seat.” Kaoru gestured to the seat next to Kyo, taking his own on the other side of the table. “You see, I’ve found myself in a somewhat undesirable position, and although Mr. Nishimura’s intervention has provided me a more favorable option in dealing with this, it depends heavily on your willingness to negotiate.”

“You are aware, I’m sure, of my family’s long-standing policy regarding negotiation with rival organizations?” Shinya’s voice was carefully neutral, deliberately taking the potential antagonism out of his words.

“Of course. However, under the circumstances, I’m sure you can make an exception just this once.”

“I suppose I have little choice.”

“Wonderful.” Kaoru pulled a large folded paper out of the file he carried and spread it out with care on the table. The map was one with which Kyo and Shinya were both familiar – one that detailed as accurately as possible the boundary lines of the various families. In several areas, such as the border between the Niikura and Terachi territories, multiple dotted lines were used to denote contested zones. “I have run this family for just over eight years now. My uncle ran it for thirty-seven years before me, and his father for fifty-three years before him. In the fifty-three years that my grandfather controlled the family, he worked tirelessly to expand it from the small province he inherited to the multi-city behemoth it is now.”

Kyo never liked looking at these maps; they turned his homeland into a horrible jigsaw puzzle colored with blood, drugs, dirty money, and other sundry things. One large piece in the center represented Kaoru’s land, another slightly smaller chunk south of it was Shinya’s. Just over a dozen smaller shapes surrounded the large two, the biggest of them barely half the size of the Terachi territories.

“My uncle retired earlier than most because he found – as I find – the task of maintaining such a large territory to be an entirely consuming effort. Where most people in my position can sit back and enjoy the wealth and privilege of such an empire, I am stuck in an office all day trying to manage a constant barrage of contracts, shipments, bribes, favors, unscrupulous employees, and other such nonsense. The thought of taking on yet more responsibility, particularly from an area so vast as what you control, exhausts me quite frankly.”

“My heart weeps for you, Mr. Niikura.”

Kyo’s head snapped around, shocked at Shinya’s uncharacteristic rudeness. Neither his boss nor their mutual captor seemed at all fazed. Die, sitting back in his chair, casually shifted one hand in front of his mouth to hide an amused smirk.

“Your sympathy warms me. I will propose to you what I have proposed to all those who have attempted to move against me and failed. You may remain in control of your current assets, but only as a figurehead. While everything you do will be done under the name of the Terachi family, you will pay one full third of your annual profits to the Niikura family in tribute, and you will conduct no major transactions without my express consent.”

Kyo’s eyes were wide, flicking back and forth between Shinya and Kaoru’s cold façades. “Tribute…?”

“Yes. Your holdings will be an extension of my own, but you will remain the primary overseer.”

“Death, or life in servitude. Is this an accurate summary?”

“I suppose, but please don’t mistake my intentions. To be left in place, even as a figurehead, requires a certain amount of trust and respect on my part. You will be treated with as much consideration as I afford Daisuke, my Second. As much as I imagine you afford Mr. Nishimura.”

Shinya laced his fingers together thoughtfully, his mouth hidden behind them. After a moment, his large eyes shifted to his side. “Well, my Prophet?”

Kyo started. After all this, Shinya still wanted his advice? For a long moment, he considered the man’s options carefully. He put one hand on his friend’s thin shoulder and moved close to whisper into his ear, _“If you were to die now, you would leave the family in shambles. You have no heir. The old men that advised your father would tear everyone and everything apart trying to get the biggest pieces for themselves even as the other families on your borders pushed in.”_

Shinya’s head turned, one hand shielding his mouth from view as he whispered back, _“You know, Father would demand an honorable death at this point. He never would have entertained such a bargain.”_

_“He died for his stubborn ideals, and the family almost fell apart for it even with you to hold it together. You have to decide now what’s more honorable - dying and letting the family crumble, or keeping everyone together and safe at the cost of your pride.”_

Shinya lowered his hand and thought for a moment, one long finger tapping the table slowly. Eventually, he smiled at Kaoru. “I suppose that to allow my organization to dissolve only to spare my own ego would be decidedly selfish, wouldn’t it? While I would like to discuss with you, _at length_ , the particulars if this arrangement, I feel at this point that your proposal as I understand it is… acceptable.”

“Perfect.” Kaoru carefully folded up the map into the stack of papers and stood. “The basics are described in this folder. I will have you and Mr. Hara moved into more comfortable quarters for the night, though I’m afraid the rest of your men will have to remain where they are until things are finalized. We can continue this conversation in the morning when we are all rested.”

Shinya stood as well and bowed with just the precise amount of respect Kaoru’s new position over him demanded. “Very well.”

Kaoru moved to the door, Die at his side, before turning and holding out one hand. “Come now, Mr. Nishimura. It is time to retire for the evening.”

Kyo, only halfway out of his seat, froze in place. Should he follow Kaoru, or stay with Shinya? Part of him cried out for the company of his oldest friend, wanting to be with him after so long separated, to comfort him in the midst of this ordeal. But another part of him yearned for the shelter Kaoru provided him, overwhelming aura of confidence and control that allowed Kyo to simply let go of all the strife and worry that was eating away at him.

Shinya saw his friend’s turmoil and slid long arms around him with the ease of familiarity, his voice soft enough to reach only Kyo’s ears, “Go on with him, Warumono. The last thing I need is you and Toshiya keeping me up all night with your bickering, hmm?”

“But… Shinya…”

“Happy birthday, my Prophet."

With that he was released to Kaoru’s waiting hand, pressed ever so gently between his shoulder blades to guide him out of the room.  

 

 


	13. Epilogue

**April 20 th \- 1:00 pm**

A small figure stood in a relaxed drape, leaning on the railing of an old wooden bridge as cherry blossom petals rained around him on a soft spring breeze. Blonde hair blew over dark gold eyes and tickled round cheeks softly, but the annoyance went unheeded. The man didn’t move until another, taller figure settled against the railing next to him, and even then his only motion was a barely-perceptible shift that bridged the thin gap between them so that their arms grazed together. The light, casual clothes they’d chosen for the lovely spring day left tattooed flesh uncovered, and the brush of bare skin was deceptively intimate in nature.

“Where’d Die go?” Kyo wondered, eyes never leaving the lake. A small flock of water birds were swimming around under the swirling cloud of cherry blossom flowers, their graceful drifting movements causing only faint ripples in the smooth mirrored surface.

“He saw a sweet snow vendor across the lawn.” Kaoru nodded off to their left.

The younger man glanced over and saw a familiar shock of red hair, amused at dark eyes that turned to check on Kaoru just about every thirty seconds. He knew that tucked under a thin sports jersey and baggy jeans, the tall man had at least two pistols concealed within easy reach. Even from across the park, the bodyguard could handle any would-be attackers with a couple well placed bullets, but the man still seemed to fret at the distance between himself and his boss.

“How cruel of you to make him go alone.”

“He’s a big boy, I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

“I could push you off this bridge right now, he’d never be able to stop me in time. The ducks will come over to peck out your spooky eyes, and the fish will come to eat your fingers until you can‘t swim anymore.”

Kaoru was unfazed, by now used to the blonde‘s occasional flights of macabre fantasy. “I would very much like to see you try. You really think my eyes are spooky?”

Kyo looked up at aforementioned eyes and reconsidered. Kaoru’s gaze had terrified him when they first met, just over a year ago. He had found it to be a terrible, predatory thing, always seeing too much no matter how hard he tried to hide. Now after having spent so much time with the man – in his employ and in his bed – he’d learned to appreciate the ever-changing nature of those dark orbs. They were sharply intelligent when dealing with family business, and would go cold and black when the man was angry. In the throes of passion they burned with intensity, and when he laughed they narrowed into sparkling slits of molten dark chocolate. In the privacy of their bedroom, when nightmares came to haunt Kyo and break down his irreverent façade, they became soft and reassuring. The intensity of Kaoru’s eyes still made Kyo shiver at times, but with much more pleasant implications these days.

Kaoru was smug enough without knowing any of that.

“Yeah, you look like a damned grim reaper.”

“Do I really?” The older man frowned thoughtfully, though his gaze now sparked with mischief. “That’s fine. You like skeletons right?”

“Are you fishing for compliments?”

“Yes. As backhanded as yours tend to be.”

Kyo rolled his own eyes with a faint smile and went back to watching the trees shed their leaves. Things between him and Kaoru were… strange, still, and probably always would be, but they were easier now. The effects of the Stockholm Syndrome-esque affliction that Kaoru had fostered in their first days together had come crashing down around their ears soon after the assault and subsequent assimilation of the Terachi family. They had been in Kaoru’s office and the man had mentioned that as per his negotiations with Shinya, Kyo would be staying with Kaoru to do for him what he had done for Shinya. It was not a surprising revelation, all things considered, but the thought that he would never go home again was a painful one.

Something in the blonde had snapped and before he knew what was happening, he was on top of the man snarling with his hands clamped viciously around a thin throat. Die very nearly killed him then, and to this day his right shoulder sometimes ached where the redhead had dislocated it pulling him away. Kyo was hysterical and had to be sedated for them to put his arm back into the socket, and Shinya was called back to the tower for a couple of weeks to help get him settled down.

When the blonde finally regained some of his composure – after what he went through with Hideki, he would probably never fully recover, but he was at least functioning again – he allowed Shinya to talk him into compliance with Kaoru’s demand. After all, since the Terachi family was now part of the Niikura family, even if it was a well-guarded secret, it only made sense that he should stay in the tower. It was safer, and gave him easy access to Kaoru’s extensive archive of physical files that needed to be transferred one-by-one to digital record.

Kyo had had to work closely with Kaoru to ensure the transition into his new job was a smooth one. They worked countless late nights to get the blonde acquainted with the inner workings of the Niikura organization, and the work proved invaluable to soothing his horribly frayed nerves. He wasn’t home, but he was in his element again. In those couple short months, he discovered a small spark of… _something_ that drew him ever closer to Kaoru, though the man had been carefully professional with him. This little flutter in his chest didn’t feel new – it almost seemed like it had been there from the day he first met Kaoru – but had been buried under everything else that had been going on at the time. It was what Shinya had seen the night he was brought into the interrogation room, and after many weeks of deliberation, Kyo decided to explore it.

Emotionally and psychologically, the blonde was a bit of a wreck, but Kaoru was surprisingly considerate to his needs. When Kyo began showing tentative interest, he took it upon himself begin a gentle sort of courtship with the younger man. The weird little spark blossomed quickly between them; if they hadn’t met the way they had, it could have been considered the healthiest, most intense relationship Kyo’d ever been in. Even Die remarked that he hadn’t seen Kaoru so happily invested in another person before.

The biggest hurdle had been restarting their sexual relationship. Kyo had suffered physical abuse throughout his life, and the aftereffects of his time in the interrogation room were relatively minimal. He just avoided the basement floors of the tower. But being raped by Hideki had scarred him and though he fought to push past it, the violation still haunted him frequently, giving him nightmares and causing him to shy away from unexpected physical contact.

When they did have sex, it was only at Kyo’s initiation, and he absolutely refused to be taken from behind. At times he would torment Kaoru, teasing him and manipulating him to the brink of madness, then pulling away to see if the man would force the issue. The practice had been a grueling test of Kaoru’s patience, and Kyo had watched the man nearly boil over with frustration with unsure eyes over and over again. But every time, Kaoru had reigned himself in and set to work soothing away Kyo’s insecurity with gentle hands, a soft voice, and seemingly infinite composure.

Kyo wasn’t sure why the man tolerated his volatile nature, or why he himself stayed with the man who’d torn his life apart. But something in Kaoru called to something in him and in spite of everything, a bond had formed between them. Walking across the lawn to join his boss on the bridge, Die couldn’t help but see that bond in the comfortable closeness of the two men, and the way they both seemed to subconsciously lean in towards one another. He couldn’t help himself; he pulled out his phone to take a picture. The wind picked up just as the camera was focusing, and a swirling blizzard of sakura petals surrounded the men.

“Daisuke! How long are you going to leave me alone with this vicious monster?” Kaoru’s voice called, playfully. “If you don’t come quickly, ducks will peck out my eyes and fish will eat my fingers!”

Snorting and tucking his phone back into his pocket, Die’s long legs covered the rest of the distance quickly with a relaxed stride. He recognized Kyo’s humor in the comment. “I didn’t know there were piranha in this pond.”

Die had developed a fondness for his best friend’s little lover, and it was only partially due to Kaoru’s improved mood around the blonde. Kyo’s fierce loyalty to Shinya felt like his own devotion to Kaoru, and that was a trait he rarely shared with other people. The younger man’s short, slight frame also tweaked at his protective nature, and he had taken it upon himself to ensure Kyo’s safety and health as much as he did Kaoru’s.

“Thousands,” was Kyo’s straight-faced response.

“Yeah? I don’t think I have that many bullets. You might just have to learn to live without your fingers, Kao.” Kaoru’s sudden grin was wicked, and Kyo blushed faintly when he saw it. Die made a face. “Oh, gross, knock it off.”

“Don’t be childish, Die. Do we need to get you a girlfriend?” Kyo asked, peevishly. He disliked being embarrassed.

“Did I tell you, when he first saw pictures of Shinya, he developed a little crush?” Kaoru whispered conspiringly.

Kyo sputtered and laughed. “What?! Seriously?! I thought you were straight!”

Die flustered, his ears turning pink. “I thought he was a woman.”

That only caused Kyo to laugh harder. Kaoru looked terribly pleased with himself; for a long time, the blonde had rarely smiled and never laughed.

“Oh man, oh man I have to tell Toshiya.” Kyo’s phone was out, and quick thumbs were typing out a long text message.

Toshiya technically worked under Die now as part of the Niikura security network, though his job protecting Shinya hadn’t changed. Once, during one of Shinya’s monthly meetings with Kaoru, Toshiya had confessed to Kyo that he was so impressed by how cool and professional Die was all the time. The Terachi Head of Security seemed to almost look up to the redhead and Kyo at times found this absolutely hilarious. Even Shinya seemed amused.

“What- NO! Stop that! What’s wrong with you?” Die snatched the phone away quickly, holding it up out of Kyo’s reach, glaring viciously at Kaoru. “I should feed you to the ducks myself! You really want to play a game of Dirty Little Secrets with _me?_ I would _destroy_ you.”

“Give me my phone!”

“Not until you promise not to tell anyone what you just heard.”

“I promise, now give it back.” Kyo hated, _hated_ when Die used his superior height against him.

“Alright.”

Kaoru shook his head with a smile and looked back to the pond. He knew where this was going. Kyo’s petulant scowl turned into a wicked grin as he hit the send button.

“YOU LITTLE SHIT!” Die lunged for the phone again, knowing it was a futile effort when the phone chimed successfully.

Kyo ducked, wedging himself forcefully between Kaoru and the bridge railing. “Kaoru! Save me!”

“YOU PROMISED!” Die tried to pry the blonde out without disturbing his boss.

“I _lied!_ ” Kyo chided, laughing.

A jaunty tune came from Die’s pocket and the redhead groaned when he recognized Toshiya’s ringtone. He gave Kyo one last scathing look before turning away to answer it. “Look, before you say anything…”

Kyo started to move out from between Kaoru and the rail, but lean, toned arms wrapped around him and he stilled, head tilting back to look up at the older man. Thin lips brushed over his in an uncharacteristic public display of affection and the blonde sighed contentedly. Times like these, in jeans and trashy band shirts, Kyo could almost pretend there was no such thing as the Terachi and Niikura mafia families. That he and Kaoru were just normal men, out for a walk in the park on a sunny spring day.

“That was _mean_ ,” Kaoru whispered against his ear.

“You started it.”

Kaoru chuckled and rested his chin on the shorter man’s shoulder comfortably so they could both watch the sakura petals drift lazily into the pond. Kyo was a fascinating creature; shockingly intelligent at times, wickedly funny at others, but always vibrant. He threw himself passionately into everything he did and Kaoru was occasionally overwhelmed by his lover’s intensity. In quieter moments, he wondered if he would one day be consumed by the phoenix flames that fueled Kyo’s convictions, but for now he was content to bask at the edge of the pyre.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the first fully-fleshed out piece I put together after several years hiatus from fanfiction, when I couldn't stand the idea bouncing around my head any longer. I'm sure that my writing has improved dramatically since, and I've expanded on this same premise much more thoroughly in other works, but Prophet is kind of my baby, and it will always hold a special place in my heart. Thanks for sticking around to read this far - I hope you enjoyed yourself!


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